Two senior Israeli cabinet ministers have had sanctions imposed in a British-led move, leading to a major diplomatic fallout.
Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich face travel bans and financial restrictions from the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway.
In an official statement, the British government said the pair were “now sanctioned for their repeated incitement of violence against Palestinian civilians, effective immediately”.
We expect the UK government to recognise the state of Palestine. This is good but does not get us to that point
Husam Zomlot
In a joint statement with foreign ministers from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: “Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights. These actions are not acceptable. This is why we have taken action now – to hold those responsible to account.
“We will strive to achieve an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the immediate release of the remaining hostages by Hamas, which can have no future role in the governance of Gaza, a surge in aid and a path to a two-state solution.”
It is a significant escalation in political pressure against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. The souring of relations with friendly western countries was further cemented after a senior Israeli cabinet minister condemned the sanctions as “outrageous” and “unacceptable”.
The US State Department also condemned the sanctions against the two Israeli ministers.
“We find that extremely unhelpful,” department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters. “It will do nothing to get us closer to a ceasefire in Gaza.
“If our allies want to help, they should focus on supporting special envoy Steve Witkoff’s negotiations and back the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation when it comes to food and aid.”
Husam Zomlot, the head of the Palestinian m ission to the UK, welcomed the government’s response to the ministers repeated incitements of violence against Palestinian communities.
Speaking exclusively to The National, he called the move a “significant step in the right direction”.
“These two ministers have been publicly calling for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, not only by words but by deeds,” Mr Zomlot said. “These two ministers have been literally physically arming illegal settlers [who are] going on the rampage, committing all the crimes that the world has been following.”
“Sanctioning these ministers is absolutely the right step in the right direction.” Mr Zomlot called on London to make further changes to its policy in response to developments across the Palestinian territory.
“This is not a substitute for the arms embargo, not a substitute for sanctions on the entire ecosystem of illegality, including settlements, and not a substitute for the recognition of the state of Palestine.”
With a French and Saudi-sponsored conference on advancing the two-state solution taking place on June 17 to 20 at UN headquarters, Mr Zomlot said the opportunity was looming for the UK to announce that step.
“We are awaiting that conference next week, we expect the UK government to recognise the state of Palestine. This is good but does not get us to that point.”
But Israel's renewed Gaza offensive, which has seen the death toll of Palestinians increase to 55,700, has turned international opinion against Israel.
British MPs from all parties have in recent weeks become angry at Israel’s actions and condemn the UK government’s failure to impose sanctions or recognise the Palestinian state.
Mr Lammy and Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer have faced accusations of Israeli killings and inhumane treatment of Palestinians.
From January last year to April this year extremist settlers have carried out more than 1,900 attacks against Palestinian civilians, the UK government said.
The diplomatic fallout began even before the sanctions were officially announced with Israel’s government reacting furiously after Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Saar condemned the “British sanctions list”.
“It is outrageous that elected representatives and members of the government are subjected to these kind of measures.”
Mr Netanyahu will hold a special government meeting early next week “to decide on our response to this unacceptable decision”, he added.
Mr Ben-Gvir posted a message on X, saying: “We survived Pharaoh, we will also survive Keir Starmer. I will continue to work for Israel and the people of Israel without fear or intimidation.”
In further retaliation to the sanctions Mr Smotrich allegedly threatened to stop transferring funds to the Palestinian Authority.
Even the pair’s political foe, Benny Gantz, said that while he “deeply” disagreed with their views, the sanctions were a “profound moral failure and a bad message to the entire world” that he claimed would “fuel global terrorism”.
Tuesday’s action could have a unifying effect on the Israeli government, which is comprised of a fragile coalition that includes hard-right and ultra-Orthodox figures.
This has allowed Mr Smotrich to approve the expansion of illegal West Bank settlements while he has also vigorously campaigned against allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza,
He caused outrage after stating that he would allow “not even a grain of wheat” to enter the territory and only last month stated that Gaza would be “entirely destroyed”. He also referred to ethnic cleansing by suggesting that Palestinians should “leave in great numbers to third countries”.
His colleague Mr Ben-Gvir, who was convicted of incitement to racism in 2007, has also stoked fires by advocating the replacement of the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem with a synagogue.
He has also called for Palestinians to be expelled from Gaza and stated that “there is no need to bring in aid, they have enough”.
Among senior MPs who have called for stronger action against the pair has been Emily Thornberry, chairwoman of the foreign affairs committee.
“I and others have been calling for sanctions on these extremist Israeli ministers for the better part of a year,” she posted on X. “The government is finally doing the right thing.”
In reference to the summit jointly hosted by France and Saudi Arabia, she argued that the sanctions “must be a precursor to recognising a Palestinian state next week – not an alternative to it”.
The rules of the road keeping cyclists safe
Cyclists must wear a helmet, arm and knee pads
Have a white front-light and a back red-light on their bike
They must place a number plate with reflective light to the back of the bike to alert road-users
Avoid carrying weights that could cause the bike to lose balance
They must cycle on designated lanes and areas and ride safe on pavements to avoid bumping into pedestrians
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Four tips to secure IoT networks
Mohammed Abukhater, vice president at FireEye in the Middle East, said:
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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.”
TUESDAY'S ORDER OF PLAY
Centre Court
Starting at 2pm:
Elina Svitolina (UKR) [3] v Jennifer Brady (USA)
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) v Belinda Bencic (SUI [4]
Not before 7pm:
Sofia Kenin (USA) [5] v Elena Rybakina (KAZ)
Maria Sakkari (GRE) v Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) [7]
Court One
Starting at midday:
Karolina Muchova (CZE) v Katerina Siniakova (CZE)
Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) v Aliaksandra Sasnovich (BLR)
Veronika Kudermetova (RUS) v Dayana Yastermska (UKR)
Petra Martic (CRO) [8] v Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE)
Sorana Cirstea (ROU) v Anett Kontaveit (EST)
Results
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,200m, Winner: ES Rubban, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ibrahim Aseel (trainer)
5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh85,000 (T) 1,200m, Winner: Al Mobher, Sczcepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
6pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m, Winner: Jabalini, Tadhg O’Shea, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
6.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m, Winner: AF Abahe, Tadgh O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
7pm: Handicap (PA) Dh85,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: AF Makerah, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
7.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: Law Of Peace, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar
PROFILE
Name: Enhance Fitness
Year started: 2018
Based: UAE
Employees: 200
Amount raised: $3m
Investors: Global Ventures and angel investors
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
