Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas urged intensified international action to halt the war in Gaza at a UN event on Thursday marking the anniversary of the Nakba − or catastrophe.
The UN event, held for the second time, commemorates the event when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were expelled from their homes during the war surrounding the establishment of Israel in 1948.
“History is indelible and justice is not time-bound,” Mr Abbas said in a speech delivered by Palestinian UN ambassador Riyad Mansour at the UN headquarters in New York.
“Today we stand before you, not only to commemorate the sombre anniversary, but to renew the pledge that the Nakba was not and will not be the permanent and inevitable fate of our people.”
Mr Abbas accused Israeli forces of committing “crimes of genocide, destruction and starvation” in Gaza over the past 19 months, aiming to displace Palestinians from the enclave.
“The number of Palestinian refugees inside Palestine, the neighbouring countries and across the world has reached more than seven million, and their suffering continues,” he said.
More than 53,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza amid an aid blockade that risks famine, while Israeli leaders reiterate calls to empty the enclave of Palestinians, as the war, triggered by Hamas’s 2023 attacks on southern Israel, continues.
Noura Erekat, a Palestinian-American legal scholar and human rights lawyer, argued that the failure to impose sanctions, pursue boycotts or hold Israel accountable has effectively legitimised occupation and apartheid.
“By relegating Palestine to a bilateral issue beyond the reach of international law, you have steadily normalised occupation,” she said.
She warned that continued inaction risks enabling further atrocities. “Many of you have normalised apartheid … now, by failing to act, you are at risk of normalising genocide.”
The UN General Assembly will convene a conference in June to advance a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, co-sponsored by France and Saudi Arabia.
“Peace demands tangible, irreversible, and permanent progress toward a two-state solution an end to the occupation and the creation of an independent Palestinian state, with Gaza as an integral part,” said Khaled Khiari, UN assistant secretary general for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific.
The UN passed a historic resolution in 2022, despite Israel's vehement opposition, to recognise the Nakba.
The day brings painful memories of displacement and widely documented reports of torture and mass killings by Israeli forces against Palestinians in 1948.
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Recycle Reuse Repurpose
New central waste facility on site at expo Dubai South area to handle estimated 173 tonne of waste generated daily by millions of visitors
Recyclables such as plastic, paper, glass will be collected from bins on the expo site and taken to the new expo Central Waste Facility on site
Organic waste will be processed at the new onsite Central Waste Facility, treated and converted into compost to be re-used to green the expo area
Of 173 tonnes of waste daily, an estimated 39 per cent will be recyclables, 48 per cent organic waste and 13 per cent general waste.
About 147 tonnes will be recycled and converted to new products at another existing facility in Ras Al Khor
Recycling at Ras Al Khor unit:
Plastic items to be converted to plastic bags and recycled
Paper pulp moulded products such as cup carriers, egg trays, seed pots, and food packaging trays
Glass waste into bowls, lights, candle holders, serving trays and coasters
Aim is for 85 per cent of waste from the site to be diverted from landfill
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.”
Look north
BBC business reporters, like a new raft of government officials, are being removed from the national and international hub of London and surely the quality of their work must suffer.
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The Breadwinner
Director: Nora Twomey
Starring: Saara Chaudry, Soma Chhaya, Laara Sadiq
Three stars
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
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Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
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