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US officials are striking an emollient tone after comments by the Trump administration’s hostage envoy Adam Boehler raised major concerns in Israel when he described Hamas as “nice guys” and said his country “is not an agent of Israel”.
Israeli ministers were reportedly furious at earlier revelations that the US had been holding direct negotiations with Hamas about the future of the Gaza ceasefire deal struck in January.
Mr Boehler then prompted more concern with a series of media interviews on US and Israeli television channels, in which he said the US had “specific interests at play” and dismissed the reported concerns of senior Israeli ministers over the direct talks with Hamas, among other bombshells.
His comments raised fears in Israel that the US, Israel’s most important ally, which has played a major role in hostage negotiations and supporting the country throughout the Gaza war, could become a more unpredictable partner under President Donald Trump.
Chuck Freilich, senior researcher at think tank INSS and Israel's former deputy national security adviser, told The National that whoever approved Mr Boehler's comments had "violated decades of American policy of not talking to Hamas since it was established and a general policy of not talking to terrorist organisations".
Mr Boehler later said in a post on X: "I want to be CRYSTAL CLEAR as some have misinterpreted. Hamas is a terrorist organisation that has murdered thousands of innocent people. They are BY DEFINITION BAD people."
The day after Mr Boehler’s interviews, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said his country’s direct negotiations with Hamas were a “one-off situation” that have not “borne fruit”.
“Our special envoy for hostages, whose job it is to get people released, had an opportunity to talk directly to someone who has control over these people and was given permission and encouraged to do so,” Mr Rubio said.
Mr Freilich said there were a number of meetings "so it’s more than a one-off, but let’s say it was a one-time attempt to conduct talks with them, it may have undermined the Witkoff channel," he added, referring to US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, much-respected among Israelis who want freeing hostages prioritised. "It looks like maybe the administration isn’t co-ordinated and talking in one voice."
Mr Rubio's comments came as Mr Witkoff, a key figure in the effort to release hostages in Gaza, a number of whom hold US citizenship, said “all things are on the table” in current talks, provided that Hamas demilitarises and leaves Gaza. “If they leave, then all things are on the table for a negotiated peace and that’s what they’ll need to do,” he said.
Meanwhile, many Israeli outlets criticised the hostage envoy, publishing opinion pieces describing the official as "naive".
A team of mid-level Israeli negotiators arrived in Qatar on Monday for the latest indirect negotiations with Hamas on the fate of the Gaza ceasefire. Sources told The National that Israel's level of representation in Doha underlined an apparent lack of interest in negotiating the second phase of the deal, which involves a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and a full Israeli withdrawal from the territory.
Despite polling in Israel consistently showing that a majority of the public favours the continuation of a deal to release hostages, the far-right government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu features a number of ministers vehemently opposed to any agreement with Hamas. Mr Netanyahu himself is accused by many in Israel of stalling on a deal to stop his coalition from collapsing.
Delays in the transition from the expired first phase of the deal to the second have raised fears that Israel’s leadership is prepared to resume fighting, a move that would plunge Gaza into further humanitarian disaster and, critics say, put the remaining living hostages in Gaza in mortal danger.
Israel’s new military chief of staff Eyal Zamir on Monday said his country “must be prepared for 2025 to be a year of war”.
Israel-Gaza war: Trump was last hope for Gaza, Dearborn residents say, as they fend off election criticism
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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 WORST THING YOU CAN EAT'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Mane points for safe home colouring
- Natural and grey hair takes colour differently than chemically treated hair
- Taking hair from a dark to a light colour should involve a slow transition through warmer stages of colour
- When choosing a colour (especially a lighter tone), allow for a natural lift of warmth
- Most modern hair colours are technique-based, in that they require a confident hand and taught skills
- If you decide to be brave and go for it, seek professional advice and use a semi-permanent colour
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
