Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Gaza ceasefire negotiations will resume this week, sources told The National on Sunday, ending a brief hiatus when Hamas suspended its participation in the talks, blaming Israel’s “attitude” and the killing this weekend of at least 90 Palestinians in an Israeli strike on Al Mawasi camp.
Israel claimed it had killed the head of Hamas' military operations in Gaza in the attack, although there is no independent confirmation.
The sources said Israel’s spy chief, David Barnea of Mossad, was expected to fly to Doha on Thursday to join senior mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the US as well as representatives of Hamas to resume their work towards a ceasefire and hostage release deal.
Accompanying Mr Barnea will be a delegation from Mossad’s domestic counterpart, Shin Bet, and officials from the Israeli army’s office on Palestinian prisoners, said the sources.
The brief suspension came as the parties involved in the negotiations were engaged in days of intense contact to iron out a deal to pause the nine-month-old Gaza war and enact a hostage and detainee swap between Israel and Hamas.
The mediators have been trying without success to strike a deal for months, but the chances of a deal significantly increased when Hamas last week softened its conditions for accepting a ceasefire.
However, the killing of at least 90 Palestinians, many women and children, in Saturday’s air strike on the Al Mawasi camp deeply angered Hamas and led to a global wave of condemnation over the loss of life.
Israel said Hamas’s military leader Mohammed Deif was the target of the attack on the camp where tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians from other districts have gathered.
A senior Hamas official told AFP that Mr Deif was “fine”.
The Israeli military said the area targeted by the air strike on Saturday was not a tent complex, but an operational compound run by Hamas and that several more militants were there guarding Mr Deif.
Another Hamas official told AFP that Hamas has withdrawn from the Gaza ceasefire negotiations because of Israeli “massacres” and its attitude in the talks.
Hamas’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh, meanwhile, said in a statement late on Saturday that he had called the mediators and other countries to urge them to put pressure on Israel to halt the attacks.
He did not suggest that Hamas was withdrawing from the negotiations and the group on Sunday denied as baseless media reports that it was suspending its participation in response to the Al Mawasi massacre.
“It has become clear to everyone that one of the goals of such escalations against our people by [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and his Nazi-like government, is to block the way to reaching an agreement to stop the aggression against our Palestinian people in Gaza,” said the group.
However, the sources said Hamas officially informed Egypt and Qatar on Saturday night it was suspending its participation in the negotiations but, they added, it reversed its decision on Sunday after the US, through its fellow mediators, offered assurances that Israel would take a “more sincere” approach to negotiations.
They said Washington wanted the negotiations to resume to deny Mr Netanyahu and his right-wing allies the opportunity to avoid committing to a deal and instead continue the war.
Mr Netanyahu has repeatedly stated that Israel will not stop the war until its declared goal of annihilating Hamas has been met. He maintains that any deal should allow Israel to resume the war.
His allies have threatened to leave the government, threatening its collapse, if he signs a deal.
The Israeli military said the strike against Mr Deif was also aimed at Rafa Salama, the commander of Hamas' Khan Younis Brigade, describing them as two of the masterminds of the October 7 attack on southern Israel that triggered the war in Gaza. Hamas fighters killed 1,200 people in that attack and took about 240 as hostages.
Israel’s response to the attack was a relentless military campaign on Gaza that has killed more than 38,000 Palestinians, wounded more than twice that many and displaced most of the territory’s 2.3 million residents.
The Israeli military operation also razed most of Gaza’s built-up areas and created a humanitarian crisis in which many face hunger while the threat of famine looms over north Gaza.
THE BIO
Mr Al Qassimi is 37 and lives in Dubai
He is a keen drummer and loves gardening
His favourite way to unwind is spending time with his two children and cooking
STAGE 4 RESULTS
1 Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 4:51:51
2 David Dekker (NED) Team Jumbo-Visma
3 Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal
4 Elia Viviani (ITA) Cofidis
5 Matteo Moschetti (ITA) Trek-Segafredo
General Classification
1 Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 12:50:21
2 Adam Yates (GBR) Teamn Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:43
3 Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:03
4 Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:43
5 Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
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More on animal trafficking
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.”
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
Tips on buying property during a pandemic
Islay Robinson, group chief executive of mortgage broker Enness Global, offers his advice on buying property in today's market.
While many have been quick to call a market collapse, this simply isn’t what we’re seeing on the ground. Many pockets of the global property market, including London and the UAE, continue to be compelling locations to invest in real estate.
While an air of uncertainty remains, the outlook is far better than anyone could have predicted. However, it is still important to consider the wider threat posed by Covid-19 when buying bricks and mortar.
Anything with outside space, gardens and private entrances is a must and these property features will see your investment keep its value should the pandemic drag on. In contrast, flats and particularly high-rise developments are falling in popularity and investors should avoid them at all costs.
Attractive investment property can be hard to find amid strong demand and heightened buyer activity. When you do find one, be prepared to move hard and fast to secure it. If you have your finances in order, this shouldn’t be an issue.
Lenders continue to lend and rates remain at an all-time low, so utilise this. There is no point in tying up cash when you can keep this liquidity to maximise other opportunities.
Keep your head and, as always when investing, take the long-term view. External factors such as coronavirus or Brexit will present challenges in the short-term, but the long-term outlook remains strong.
Finally, keep an eye on your currency. Whenever currency fluctuations favour foreign buyers, you can bet that demand will increase, as they act to secure what is essentially a discounted property.
MATCH INFO
Liverpool v Manchester City, Sunday, 8.30pm UAE
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
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- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
