Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Israel has deployed tanks into the West Bank for the first time in 20 years, as its Defence Minister pledged a long-term operation that will prevent at least 40,000 displaced refugees from returning home.
Israel Katz instructed the military to hold the north of the occupied territory “for the coming year”.
The move to occupy Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams – three of the world's oldest refugee camps – will further squeeze Palestinians from an ever-shrinking strip of land.
"So far, 40,000 Palestinians have evacuated from the refugee camps of Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams, which are now empty of residents," Mr Katz said, referring to residents who have been forcibly displaced by the continuing violence. "I have instructed [troops] to prepare for a prolonged presence in the cleared camps for the coming year, and to prevent the return of residents and the resurgence of terrorism," he added.
The comments came as Israel is intensifying an offensive in the occupied territory and after a fragile ceasefire that paused the war in Gaza came into force in January. Israel's army on Sunday announced the deployment of a tank division in the city of Jenin, the first time tanks have operated in the Palestinian territory since the end of the Second Intifada in 2005.
The Israeli military, "Shin Bet [the security agency] and border police forces continue their counterterrorism operation in northern Samaria [the West Bank] and are expanding offensive activities in the area", Mr Katz added.
On Friday, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the army to step up its operations in the occupied West Bank during a rare visit to troops in the territory that drew Palestinian condemnation. Mr Netanyahu's visit to Tulkarm refugee camp in the north came after Israeli officials blamed the bombing of several buses in central Israel on Thursday on fighters from the West Bank.
The Prime Minister's office said he had ordered more "operational activity" in the northern West Bank in response to the blasts. Mr Netanyahu’s trip came as Israeli forces continue an operation named Iron Wall, that has displaced tens of thousands of Palestinians and destroyed vast amounts of private property and infrastructure, stoking fears that Israel is seeking to replicate its war on Gaza in the West Bank. Israel says it is launching the operation to fight terrorism.
The operations associated with Iron Wall span numerous refugee camps near the cities of Jenin, Tulkarm and Tubas. On Friday, "live fire" from Israeli troops killed a 13-year-old girl in Jenin refugee camp, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. Israeli fire also killed a 13-year-old boy near the southern West Bank city of Hebron, the ministry added.
The Israeli offensive has displaced at least 40,000 people, according to the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The operation is now the longest in the West Bank since the Second Intifada in the early 2000s. In Tulkarm and Jenin, the army has demolished dozens of homes with explosives, opening up new access routes into the densely built camps.
Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 900 Palestinians, including many militants, in the territory since the start of the war, the Palestinian Health Ministry says. At least 32 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations in the territory over the same period, according to Israel's official figures.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEducatly%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2020%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EUAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohmmed%20El%20Sonbaty%2C%20Joan%20Manuel%20and%20Abdelrahman%20Ayman%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEducation%20technology%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20size%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%242%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEnterprise%20Ireland%2C%20Egypt%20venture%2C%20Plus%20VC%2C%20HBAN%2C%20Falak%20Startups%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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.”
