Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has advanced plans to build a settlement in the E1 area surrounding East Jerusalem and derail the creation of a Palestinian state.
The minister said on Thursday he would approve tenders for more than 3,000 housing units, effectively splitting the occupied West Bank in two.
He said the goal was to “bury” the prospect of Palestinian statehood, with campaigners calling the plan an explicit embrace of apartheid.
Although several bureaucratic hurdles remain, officials say infrastructure work could begin within months, with construction starting in about a year.
The announcement came shortly after Australia joined France, the UK and Canada in pledging to recognise Palestine as a state in September.
“This reality finally buries the idea of a Palestinian state, because there is nothing to recognise and no one to recognise,” Mr Smotrich said. “Anyone in the world who tries today to recognise a Palestinian state will receive an answer from us on the ground.
“Approval of construction plans in E1 buries the idea of a Palestinian state and continues the many steps we are taking on the ground as part of the de facto sovereignty plan that we began implementing with the establishment of the government."
E1 would fall between the Palestinian village of Al Zaim and the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, one of the biggest in the occupied West Bank. It would deal a huge blow to a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
E1 would expand the separation barrier that cuts the city off from the West Bank, undermining sovereignty, freedom of movement and the economy of a future Palestine.
The project has been frozen for decades due to condemnation by the international community.
Embracing apartheid
Israeli NGO Peace Now, which monitors the development of settlements, calls E1 “particularly devastating for the prospects of peace and the future of a two-state solution, as it would cut the West Bank in two and prevent the development of the metropolitan area between Ramallah, East Jerusalem and Bethlehem”.
Jordan condemned Mr Smotrich, calling the move "an aggression on the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to establish their independent, sovereign state on the June 4, 1967 lines, with occupied Jerusalem as its capital."
“The Israeli government is openly announcing apartheid,” said Aviv Tatarsky, a researcher at NGO Ir Amim. “It explicitly states that the E1 plans were approved to ‘bury’ the two-state solution and to entrench de facto sovereignty.
“States now working to recognise a Palestinian state should understand that Israel is undeterred by diplomatic gestures or condemnations. If they are serious about the prospect of peace, they must take concrete action.”
Qatar also rejected Israel's expansion of settlements and the forced displacement of the Palestinian people, "which aim to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state", its Foreign Ministry said.
Egypt criticised the plan, saying it "reflects the Israeli government's insistence on expanding its seizure of Palestinian lands and altering the demographic status of the territories it occupies", its Foreign Ministry said.
"This is a blatant violation of international law, relevant Security Council resolutions and international conventions."
A US State Department representative said only that "a stable West Bank keeps Israel secure and is in line with this administration's goal to achieve peace in the region", when asked about Mr Smotrich's plan.
The idea for E1 originated in the 1990s and reflects the long-term Israeli desire to expand settlements despite international objections. A more specific purpose of E1 is to connect Maale Adumim, currently separated from the outskirts of East Jerusalem, with the city.
Significant international opposition, including from the US, proved effective in blocking it, even as settlement expansion continued elsewhere in the occupied West Bank.
Since the Israel-Gaza war broke out on October 7, 2023, the wider settlement project has been in the ascendancy, including E1. Record numbers of Palestinians have been displaced by Israeli settlers who have access to more arms and enjoy greater impunity than before from the government and authorities.
On Wednesday, an Israeli settler shot and killed a Palestinian in the West Bank, the latest in a string of attacks by the Israeli army and settlers.
Nearly 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel's army and its settlers in the West Bank since October 2023, UN figures have said.
Israel last year launched operation Iron Wall in the north of the occupied West Bank where more than 30,000 Palestinians remain forcibly displaced. Israeli forces have fired at people attempting to return home, the UN has said.
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Rating: 5/5
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What is the Supreme Petroleum Council?
The Abu Dhabi Supreme Petroleum Council was established in 1988 and is the highest governing body in Abu Dhabi’s oil and gas industry. The council formulates, oversees and executes the emirate’s petroleum-related policies. It also approves the allocation of capital spending across state-owned Adnoc’s upstream, downstream and midstream operations and functions as the company’s board of directors. The SPC’s mandate is also required for auctioning oil and gas concessions in Abu Dhabi and for awarding blocks to international oil companies. The council is chaired by Sheikh Khalifa, the President and Ruler of Abu Dhabi while Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, is the vice chairman.
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.”
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
The biog:
Languages: Arabic, Farsi, Hindi, basic Russian
Favourite food: Pizza
Best food on the road: rice
Favourite colour: silver
Favourite bike: Gold Wing, Honda
Favourite biking destination: Canada
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
