Syrian authorities have condemned the Israeli attack near the presidential palace in Damascus, describing it as a “dangerous escalation” against state institutions and national sovereignty.
“The Syrian presidency calls on the international community and Arab states to stand with Syria in the face of these hostile assaults that violate international laws and treaties,” Syria's presidency said in a statement. “These attacks − whether foreign or domestic − target Syria’s unity, but they will not succeed in weakening the will of the Syrian people”
The statement also urged all parties to commit to dialogue and co-operation in the interest of national unity.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Friday that he spoke with the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Israel, Sheikh Muwafeq Tarif, who thanked him for his "directive to act decisively to protect the Druze in Syria in recent days, including his decision last night to bomb the presidential palace complex in Damascus".
“Sheikh Tarif said that the strong actions ordered by the Prime Minister sent a deterrent message to the Syrian regime regarding Israel's commitment to the Druze community in Syria,” according to the statement.
“The Prime Minister told the sheikh that he expects the Druze community to respect the law in Israel,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, Walid Jumblatt, the Lebanese figurehead of the Druze community, met Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara in Damascus on Friday, but left without making a statement.
On Thursday, he accused Israel of seeking to sow discord in Syria and the Druze community through its attacks. Mr Jumblatt has previously called on the Druze community in Syria to remain vigilant against foreign interference.
Israel has escalated its aggression on Syria by launching air strikes and warned of further action if authorities failed to halt sectarian violence targeting the Druze minority.
“Israel struck last night near the presidential palace in Damascus,” Mr Netanyahu said in a joint statement with Defence Minister Israel Katz.
“This is a clear message to the Syrian regime: We will not allow [Syrian] forces to deploy south of Damascus or any threat to the Druze community.”
The Israeli military later confirmed it had struck “adjacent to the area of the palace” of Mr Al Shara in Damascus, without giving more details.
Israel has struck Syria several times this week after violence between pro-Syrian government gunmen and Druze fighters near the capital. The clashes left dozens of people dead or wounded.
Druze men are subject to mandatory conscription and have served in the Israeli army for decades. As a result, maintaining a strong relationship with the Druze community has been a priority for Israeli governments.
About 25,000 Druze live in the occupied Golan Heights, and another 140,000 live in Israel. Most of the Druze living in the Golan Heights have refrained from adopting Israeli citizenship, although they have access to Israeli public services and the labour market.
The sectarian violence began after an attack on Tuesday on Druze areas of Sahnaya, a large suburb of the Syrian capital, by militants from the nearby areas of Hajar Al Aswad, Mouaddamiyeh and Balbila. The attack was sparked by a voice recording cursing the Prophet, which Sunni militants accused the Druze of creating.
Rejecting foreign intervention
Parts of the southern province of Suwayda, the sect’s ancestral home, also came under assault from gunmen in nearby Deraa, in the biggest threat to the ancient minority since Hayat Tahrir Al Sham took power last year. The group led the rebel offensive that toppled Bashar Al Assad in December and formed the transitional government led by Mr Al Shara.
Israel on Wednesday carried out a strike in Syria against what it called “an extremist group” that attacked members of the Druze community.
A Syrian Foreign Ministry statement rejected “all forms of foreign intervention” in Syria's internal affairs, without mentioning Israel, and declared Syria's commitment to protecting all Syrian groups “including the noble Druze sect”.
The Israeli attacks on Syria pose further challenges to Mr Al Shara's efforts to assert his control over the country.
Syrian Druze spiritual leader Hikmat Al Hijri on Thursday condemned a “genocidal campaign” against his people and called for “international forces to maintain peace and prevent the continuation of these crimes”.
The mayor of Sahnaya and his son were shot dead by unknown assailants, hours after forces from the Syrian ministries of defence and the interior entered the area, local media have reported.
On Friday, state media said an agreement had been reached to surrender heavy weapons and restore normal life. There was no immediate comment from the Druze community.
The US condemned the violence and called on the interim authorities to hold perpetrators accountable.
“The recent violence and inflammatory rhetoric targeting members of the Druze community in Syria is reprehensible and unacceptable,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said in a statement. She confirmed that US representatives met the Syrian delegation led by Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shibani in New York on Tuesday.
“Any future normalisation of relations or lifting of sanctions … will depend on the interim authority's actions and positive response to the specific confidence-building measures we have communicated,” she added.
The Druze number less than one million people in the Middle East but they inhabit strategic mountain areas at the crossroads of big power competition in the region.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Friday condemned the strike on the presidential palace in Damascus, calling on both sides to cease all hostilities and exercise "maximum restraint", his spokesman said. A number of Arab countries also condemned the attack.
In Lebanon, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said his government stood in solidarity with Syria following the Israeli attacks. Speaking after a cabinet meeting, Mr Salam said Lebanon’s biggest concern in Syria was the country's stability.
Explainer: Who are the Druze and why is this minority group in the headlines?
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”.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The Saga Continues
Wu-Tang Clan
(36 Chambers / Entertainment One)
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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.”
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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ABU DHABI ORDER OF PLAY
Starting at 10am:
Daria Kasatkina v Qiang Wang
Veronika Kudermetova v Annet Kontaveit (10)
Maria Sakkari (9) v Anastasia Potapova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Ons Jabeur (15)
Donna Vekic (16) v Bernarda Pera
Ekaterina Alexandrova v Zarina Diyas
