Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Israel on Friday defended its attack on the south of Gaza against claims of genocide, telling the UN’s highest court that any state would do the same.
Denying a claim by South Africa that Rafah is the “endgame” of Gaza’s destruction, Israel said it entered the city to bring down a “military stronghold for Hamas”.
It told the International Court of Justice it wishes no harm to Palestinian civilians and that Hamas militants were responsible for the war's "suffering and pain".
In a 90-minute pleading, it said an order sought by South Africa for Israel to withdraw from Gaza would be an "extreme measure" denying it the right to self-defence.
"This war, like all wars, is tragic and terrible for Israelis and Palestinians and it has exacted a terrible human price. But it is not genocide," Israeli deputy attorney general Gilad Noam told judges. “Any state put in Israel’s difficult position would do the same."
On another day of legal arguments on the war:
· Israel said it "does not wish harm" to Palestinian civilians and the defeat of Hamas would mean they are "liberated" from the militants' rule
· It told the court its operations in Rafah were "specific, limited and localised" and aimed at Hamas networks posing a "significant threat" to Israel
· Judges were told that, contrary to South Africa's claims that Israel is withholding aid, it is making "remarkable efforts" to help civilians in Gaza
· Lawyers for Israel warned the court not to let South Africa and Hamas use international genocide law as a "sword rather than a shield"
· There was a disturbance in the Great Hall of Justice as someone in the courtroom shouted "liars" during Israel's closing argument.
Emergency ruling
The 17-member court headed by Lebanon's Nawaf Salam will now consider whether to grant South Africa's request for an interim order, a decision that typically takes a few weeks.
South Africa is seeking an explicit order for Israel to leave Gaza after a previous judgment in January gave more general instructions to prevent genocide.
It says it is acting in the name of Palestinians who have no independent representation at the UN, while Israel accuses South Africa of pro-Hamas bias.
Complaining of the short notice at which Thursday and Friday's hearings were called, Israel did not use all of its allotted two hours on Friday, with only two lawyers taking the floor.
Israel devoted part of its time to painting Rafah – often described as the "last refuge" of Palestinian civilians – as a military stronghold from which Hamas threatens Israel.
Lawyers gave documents to the court purporting to show rocket launch sites in Rafah and tunnel shafts that could be used to smuggle hostages or militants out of Gaza.
They said 278 rockets had been launched from Gaza in the past two weeks alone and hostages remained in captivity after Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel.
Mr Noam said Israel's moves in the south were not a "large-scale assault on Rafah but rather specific, limited and localised operations".
"Only by bringing down Hamas’s military stronghold in Rafah will Palestinians be liberated from the clench grip of the murderous terrorist regime and the road to peace and prosperity may finally be paved," he said.
Another of Israel's lawyers, Tamar Kaplan Tourgeman, said Hamas tactics were to blame for the suffering caused by the "tragic" conflict.
She said South Africa’s allegations of genocide fail to mention violence, hostage-taking and continuing rocket fire by Gaza’s ruling militants.
“We have hardly heard the word Hamas [from South Africa], even though it is Hamas that has brought about all the suffering and pain that we are witnessing,” she said.
South Africa neglected to mention that Israel is doing a “great deal” to expand aid routes, she said. Judges were told a Hamas attack on the Kerem Shalom border crossing was to blame for its recent closure.
"Israel continues to take extraordinary measures in order to minimise harm to Palestinian civilians in Gaza," Ms Tourgeman said.
'Sword not shield'
Israel also spent significant time arguing an order to call off its offensive in Gaza would be an abuse of the International Court of Justice.
It said the court should not be dragged down a "dangerous path" into the "micromanagement" of what Israel portrays as an armed conflict like any other.
Ordering a withdrawal would "turn the genocide convention into a sword rather than a shield", Mr Noam said.
It would also allow Hamas to reconstitute its forces, deny hostages hope of rescue and "destine the Palestinians in Gaza to perpetual war", the bench was told.
Ms Tourgeman accused South Africa of trying to "obtain military advantage for its ally" and said the order it seeks would "legitimise, protect and reward Hamas’s despicable method of warfare".
"It is one thing to require that Israel abide by its international legal obligations and protect civilians when exercising its inherent right to defend itself," she said. "But to deny Israel that inherent right is a different thing altogether. It is unthinkable."
'Endgame' claim
South Africa took the floor on Thursday to say it was returning to the ICJ because the war had entered a "new and horrific phase".
Having applied on May 10 for a ruling to halt Israel's operations in Rafah, it widened the request during Thursday's hearings to seek a withdrawal from all of Gaza.
British barrister Vaughan Lowe, representing South Africa, said the attack on Rafah was part of a wider goal of “wiping Gaza from the map”.
“It has become increasingly clear that Israel’s actions in Rafah are part of the endgame in which Gaza is utterly destroyed as an area capable of human habitation,” he said.
“It was Rafah that brought South Africa to the court, but it is all Palestinians … who need the protection from genocide that the court can order.”
South Africa said the previous rulings from the bench telling Israel to prevent genocide “have not succeeded” in protecting Palestinians in Gaza.
Only an order for a full retreat will “protect what is left of Palestinian life” in the enclave, South African lawyer Adila Hassim said.
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Brief scoreline:
Tottenham 1
Son 78'
Manchester City 0
Match info
What: Fifa Club World Cup play-off
Who: Al Ain v Team Wellington
Where: Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
When: Wednesday, kick off 7.30pm
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 0
Stoke City 0
Man of the Match: Erik Pieters (Stoke)
Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US' most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was first created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out projectiles, namely ballistic missiles, as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles both inside and outside of the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 93 miles above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then deployed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
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Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
If you go
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Seattle from Dh5,555 return, including taxes. Portland is a 260 km drive from Seattle and Emirates offers codeshare flights to Portland with its partner Alaska Airlines.
The car
Hertz (www.hertz.ae) offers compact car rental from about $300 per week, including taxes. Emirates Skywards members can earn points on their car hire through Hertz.
Parks and accommodation
For information on Crater Lake National Park, visit www.nps.gov/crla/index.htm . Because of the altitude, large parts of the park are closed in winter due to snow. While the park’s summer season is May 22-October 31, typically, the full loop of the Rim Drive is only possible from late July until the end of October. Entry costs $25 per car for a day. For accommodation, see www.travelcraterlake.com. For information on Umpqua Hot Springs, see www.fs.usda.gov and https://soakoregon.com/umpqua-hot-springs/. For Bend, see https://www.visitbend.com/.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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