Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Disagreements over the return of displaced Palestinians in Gaza and vague language on the absence of guarantees for a permanent ceasefire are stumbling blocks in truce talks between Hamas and Israel, sources told The National.
Sections of the latest proposal – initially rejected by Hamas but still being studied – include strict Israeli conditions on the return of hundreds of thousands of displaced Gazans.
Sources said Khalil Al Hayya, Hamas’s representative in the latest round of negotiations, gave the group’s initial response to mediators from the US, Egypt and Qatar before he left Egypt at the end of this week's talks.
But he also told the mediators that Hamas’s final response would be given after consultations with its leadership in Gaza and in Doha.
Mr Al Hayya is the deputy of Hamas’s leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, Israel’s most-wanted man.
Hamas has already said, in a statement on Tuesday, that the proposals did not meet its demands but it would further study them before giving its final response to the mediators. The statement gave no details.
Hamas has long insisted that it wants Israel to completely withdraw from Gaza and agree to a permanent ceasefire and the release of high-profile Palestinian prisoners serving life or long jail terms as part of a prisoner and hostage swap.
Those prisoners, it insists, must include Marwan Barghouti, a senior Palestinian leader from the mainstream Fatah faction who has long been tipped as a possible successor to President Mahmoud Abbas, who is in his eighties.
The deadlock in the Gaza negotiations comes amid US President Joe Biden’s growing frustration with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the war, increasing pressure on Washington’s closest Middle East ally to agree to a truce.
Speaking to The National on Wednesday, the two sources said Hamas’s main objection to the proposals was over the return of the displaced and the absence of a firm reference to a permanent ceasefire following an initial, six-week truce.
The proposals provide for a gradual return of the displaced to northern Gaza, with Israel adamant that it would only allow 2,000 a day, excluding fighting-age males, to return home during the six-week truce, said the sources.
Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been displaced by the war, now in its seventh month. An estimated 1.5 million of those have taken refuge in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah, close to the Egyptian border.
Hamas, according to the sources, has also rejected what it sees as “loose language” on Israel’s redeployment of forces away from urban areas during the initial truce and allowing it to unilaterally determine new positions for its troops.
“Hamas believes this can potentially allow Israel to select positions that give it control over wide areas or allow it to create buffer zones,” one of the two sources said.
Hamas is also opposed to the use in the proposals of the term “sustainable quiet” to follow the six-week truce, preferring instead to have firm guarantees of a permanent ceasefire.
Hamas has long argued that Israel intended to resume military operations after the expiry of the six-week truce and the release of the estimated 130 hostages currently held by Hamas and allied Gaza groups.
Mr Netanyahu has repeatedly stated that the war in Gaza will not end before Hamas’s governance and military capabilities have been dismantled to avoid a repeat of the group’s October 7 attack on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and involved the abduction of about 250 others.
Israel’s response to the attack – the deadliest against the country since its creation in 1948 – has been the relentless bombardment of Gaza that has to date killed more than 33,300 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. It has also created a humanitarian crisis and razed vast swathes of built-up areas.
Hamas released about 100 hostages during a week-long truce in late November. Mediators have since been unable to broker another pause in the war despite extensive negotiations and US pressure.
Of the estimated 130 hostages remaining in Gaza, about 30 are believed to have died in captivity, most likely from Israel’s bombardment.
The proposals presented to Hamas provide for the release of about 40 women, children and elderly and ailing hostages in return for 900 Palestinians incarcerated in Israel, including 100 serving life or long jail terms.
However, Hamas rejects Israel’s suggestion that the militant group release adult males to top up the number of hostages freed if the elderly, children, women and ailing captives are fewer than 40.
Hamas is widely suspected to be planning to keep male Israeli soldiers and the remains of those who died in captivity for the later stages of the hostage and prisoner swap, to secure freedom for thousands of Palestinians or as bargaining chips if Israel does not fully pull out from Gaza and agree to a permanent ceasefire.
Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
Teachers' pay - what you need to know
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
From exhibitions to the battlefield
In 2016, the Shaded Dome was awarded with the 'De Vernufteling' people's choice award, an annual prize by the Dutch Association of Consulting Engineers and the Royal Netherlands Society of Engineers for the most innovative project by a Dutch engineering firm.
It was assigned by the Dutch Ministry of Defence to modify the Shaded Dome to make it suitable for ballistic protection. Royal HaskoningDHV, one of the companies which designed the dome, is an independent international engineering and project management consultancy, leading the way in sustainable development and innovation.
It is driving positive change through innovation and technology, helping use resources more efficiently.
It aims to minimise the impact on the environment by leading by example in its projects in sustainable development and innovation, to become part of the solution to a more sustainable society now and into the future.
Coming soon
Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Akira Back Dubai
Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
A cheaper choice
Vanuatu: $130,000
Why on earth pick Vanuatu? Easy. The South Pacific country has no income tax, wealth tax, capital gains or inheritance tax. And in 2015, when it was hit by Cyclone Pam, it signed an agreement with the EU that gave it some serious passport power.
Cost: A minimum investment of $130,000 for a family of up to four, plus $25,000 in fees.
Criteria: Applicants must have a minimum net worth of $250,000. The process take six to eight weeks, after which the investor must travel to Vanuatu or Hong Kong to take the oath of allegiance. Citizenship and passport are normally provided on the same day.
Benefits: No tax, no restrictions on dual citizenship, no requirement to visit or reside to retain a passport. Visa-free access to 129 countries.
Results:
CSIL 2-star 145cm One Round with Jump-Off
1. Alice Debany Clero (USA) on Amareusa S 38.83 seconds
2. Anikka Sande (NOR) For Cash 2 39.09
3. Georgia Tame (GBR) Cash Up 39.42
4. Nadia Taryam (UAE) Askaria 3 39.63
5. Miriam Schneider (GER) Fidelius G 47.74
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