Arab mediators have suggested changes to US President Donald Trump's 21-point plan to end the Gaza war, including a two-stage release of hostages and a full Israeli withdrawal from the strip, sources told The National on Sunday.
The sources said the suggested amendments were communicated to US officials last week and that talks between mediators and Washington were continuing.
The suggestions were presented to the US by Egyptian and Qatari mediators after consultations with Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Turkey.
Mr Trump presented the plan last week when he met leaders and officials from Arab and Muslim-majority countries on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, Jordan’s King Abdullah said on Sunday.
Jordan is working with “active partners on the details of a comprehensive plan for Gaza, presented by Mr Trump last week during a multilateral meeting with Arab and Muslim leaders”, a Royal Palace statement quoted the king as saying. He added that “many of its details are in line with what has been agreed upon” among those leaders. The statement did not specify what the plan entails.
The sources on Sunday said the mediators wanted the plan to provide for a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and for Hamas to lay down and have its weapons stored under international supervision, rather than surrender them.
Mediators said they had informed US officials it would be difficult to hand over the 48 hostages all at once – 20 are believed to still be alive – because contact with the Hamas operatives guarding the captives has been lost for weeks due to the intensity of the Israeli army's operations in Gaza.
The hostages who died in captivity have been buried inside Hamas's underground tunnels, the sources said, and many of those tunnels have been destroyed. Locating and exhuming the bodies require a great deal of time and effort, they added.
Mr Trump acknowledged on Friday that talks were under way between the stakeholders on his plan.
“Intense negotiations have been going on for four days and will continue for as long as necessary in order to get a successfully completed agreement,” he wrote on Truth Social. “All of the countries within the region are involved.
“Hamas is very much aware of these discussions and Israel has been informed at all levels,” Mr Trump wrote. He called the talks “inspired and productive”.
Steve Witkoff, the US's Middle East special envoy, earlier said Mr Trump had presented to the leaders and senior officials of Arab and Muslim majority nations a 21-point Middle East peace plan.
“We're hopeful, and I might say even confident, that in the coming days we'll be able to announce some sort of breakthrough,” Mr Witkoff said. The plan, he said, “addresses Israeli concerns, as well as the concerns of all the neighbours in the region”.
An official text of the plan has yet to be publicised but sources told The National it includes a long-term ceasefire, the release of all 48 hostages held by Hamas and Israel's gradual withdrawal from Gaza.
It also features a pledge from Mr Trump that Israel would not annex the West Bank and would freeze building new Jewish settlements there. Hamas leaders will leave Gaza to live in exile abroad under the plan.
It makes no mention of Mr Trump's vision, first floated in January, for Gaza's two million Palestinians to leave the enclave that will then be taken over by the US and rebuilt as a glitzy resort.
However, it calls for the reopening of all land crossings into Gaza to allow humanitarian aid into the strip and let the injured out to receive medical care abroad, as well as civilians who wish to leave the territory.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told Fox News on Sunday that Mr Trump's proposal remains in progress as his team works with US officials to secure the release of hostages and dismantle Hamas.
“I hope we can make it a go because we want to free our hostages. We want to get rid of Hamas rule and have them disarmed, Gaza demilitarised, and a new future set up for Gazans and Israelis alike and for the whole region.”
Mr Netanyahu is scheduled to meet Mr Trump in Washington on Monday. Hamas on Sunday said it has yet to receive Mr Trump's proposals but that it was prepared to deal “positively and responsibly” with them.
Egypt, Qatar and the US have been trying for months without success to broker a ceasefire in Gaza and secure the release of the hostages. The last Gaza ceasefire lasted about two months before it collapsed in March.
The first indication that Arab mediators had some reservations on Mr Trump's plan came on Thursday, when Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah El Sisi wrote on social media that the US blueprint serves as a strong foundation that can be built on.
That position was echoed on Saturday by Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty when he addressed the General Assembly in New York.
“Egypt shows readiness and commitment to build on the vision of President Trump to restore stability, end the war, open the horizon for peace, free the hostages and heal all the wounds … to put aside the arrogance of might and raise the banners of construction and hope in tomorrow,” he said.
The Gaza war was caused by a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel in October 7, 2023 in which about 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage. The Israeli army responded with a devastating campaign that has to date killed more than 66,000, authorities in Gaza estimate, and reduced most of the territory to rubble.
The Israeli army's conduct in Gaza has given rise to charges of genocide, including by UN experts, and of the use of starvation as a weapon, leaving most of the enclave's residents without food and creating pockets of famine.
THE SPECS
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Leap of Faith
Michael J Mazarr
Public Affairs
Dh67
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Panipat
Director Ashutosh Gowariker
Produced Ashutosh Gowariker, Rohit Shelatkar, Reliance Entertainment
Cast Arjun Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Kriti Sanon, Mohnish Behl, Padmini Kolhapure, Zeenat Aman
Rating 3 /5 stars
The Lowdown
Kesari
Rating: 2.5/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Anubhav Singh
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Parineeti Chopra
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
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Transmission: 10-speed auto
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
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
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.”
PROFILE OF CURE.FIT
Started: July 2016
Founders: Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori
Based: Bangalore, India
Sector: Health & wellness
Size: 500 employees
Investment: $250 million
Investors: Accel, Oaktree Capital (US); Chiratae Ventures, Epiq Capital, Innoven Capital, Kalaari Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Piramal Group’s Anand Piramal, Pratithi Investment Trust, Ratan Tata (India); and Unilever Ventures (Unilever’s global venture capital arm)
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