The letter urged the administration to place conditions on any future military aid to Israel to ensure it is used in accordance with US law. Getty Images
The letter urged the administration to place conditions on any future military aid to Israel to ensure it is used in accordance with US law. Getty Images
The letter urged the administration to place conditions on any future military aid to Israel to ensure it is used in accordance with US law. Getty Images
The letter urged the administration to place conditions on any future military aid to Israel to ensure it is used in accordance with US law. Getty Images

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Dozens of members of US Congress urge Biden to reconsider Israel arms transfer

Lawmakers say administration should withhold military aid until there is a full investigation into Israeli air strike that killed aid workers

The National

April 05, 2024

  • English
  • Arabic

More than three dozen members of Congress have written to US President Joe Biden of their “shared concern and outrage” over the Israeli strike on a humanitarian aid convoy in Gaza and urged him to reconsider the recent authorisation of a weapons transfer to Israel.

In a letter released on Friday, 40 legislators said the administration should “withhold this and any future offensive arms transfers” until there is a full US investigation into an Israeli air strike on Monday that killed seven aid workers with World Central Kitchen, one of whom was a dual US-Canadian citizen

“If this strike is found to have violated US or international law, we urge you to continue withholding these transfers until those responsible are held accountable,” said the letter, which was signed by progressive Democrats as well as former House speaker Nancy Pelosi.

“We also urge you to withhold these transfers if Israel fails to sufficiently mitigate harm to innocent civilians in Gaza, including aid workers, and if it fails to facilitate – or arbitrarily denies or restricts – the transport and delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza.”

Mr Biden has been facing growing challenges from within his own Democratic Party over his failure to call for an immediate ceasefire and the continuing flow of military aid to Israel.

Mr Biden signalled to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a tense call on Thursday that US policy could change if Israel did not take steps to limit civilian casualties in Gaza and address the spiralling humanitarian crisis there.

After the phone conversation, Israel announced steps it was taking to increase entry points for humanitarian aid deliveries to get into the Palestinian enclave, as well as acceptance for more aid transiting from Jordan.

Regarding the WCK aid convoy deaths, the Israeli government said it would conduct its own investigation.

The White House will not conduct an independent or separate investigation, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said this week, even after the WCK organisation urged that there be third-party investigations.

The legislators called on the Biden administration to do its own probe into the deadly incident.

“We strongly urge your administration to conduct a thorough investigation into this air strike to determine how the aid convoy could have been mistakenly targeted despite coordinating their movements with the Israeli military and travelling in clearly marked vehicles,” the letter said, adding that US efforts to bring more aid into the enclave are insufficient to meet the “extraordinary need on the ground”.

The letter also urged the administration to place conditions on any future military aid to Israel to ensure it is used in accordance with US law.

How do Sim card scams work?

Sim swap frauds are a form of identity theft.

They involve criminals conning mobile phone operators into issuing them with replacement Sim cards by claiming to be the victim, often pretending their phone has been lost or stolen in order to secure a new Sim.

They use the victim's personal details - obtained through criminal methods - to convince such companies of their identity.

The criminal can then access any online service that requires security codes to be sent to a user's mobile phone, such as banking services.

Five hymns the crowds can join in

Papal Mass will begin at 10.30am at the Zayed Sports City Stadium on Tuesday

Some 17 hymns will be sung by a 120-strong UAE choir

Five hymns will be rehearsed with crowds on Tuesday morning before the Pope arrives at stadium

‘Christ be our Light’ as the entrance song

‘All that I am’ for the offertory or during the symbolic offering of gifts at the altar

‘Make me a Channel of your Peace’ and ‘Soul of my Saviour’ for the communion

‘Tell out my Soul’ as the final hymn after the blessings from the Pope

The choir will also sing the hymn ‘Legions of Heaven’ in Arabic as ‘Assakiroo Sama’

There are 15 Arabic speakers from Syria, Lebanon and Jordan in the choir that comprises residents from the Philippines, India, France, Italy, America, Netherlands, Armenia and Indonesia

The choir will be accompanied by a brass ensemble and an organ

They will practice for the first time at the stadium on the eve of the public mass on Monday evening 

Keane on …

Liverpool’s Uefa Champions League bid: “They’re great. With the attacking force they have, for me, they’re certainly one of the favourites. You look at the teams left in it - they’re capable of scoring against anybody at any given time. Defensively they’ve been good, so I don’t see any reason why they couldn’t go on and win it.”

Mohamed Salah’s debut campaign at Anfield: “Unbelievable. He’s been phenomenal. You can name the front three, but for him on a personal level, he’s been unreal. He’s been great to watch and hopefully he can continue now until the end of the season - which I’m sure he will, because he’s been in fine form. He’s been incredible this season.”

Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s instant impact at former club LA Galaxy: “Brilliant. It’s been a great start for him and for the club. They were crying out for another big name there. They were lacking that, for the prestige of LA Galaxy. And now they have one of the finest stars. I hope they can go win something this year.”

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.”

More from Alistair Burt
If you go

The flights
There are various ways of getting to the southern Serengeti in Tanzania from the UAE. The exact route and airstrip depends on your overall trip itinerary and which camp you’re staying at. 
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Kilimanjaro International Airport from Dh1,350 return, including taxes; this can be followed by a short flight from Kilimanjaro to the Serengeti with Coastal Aviation from about US$700 (Dh2,500) return, including taxes. Kenya Airways, Emirates and Etihad offer flights via Nairobi or Dar es Salaam.   

Watch this space

First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus 

On Women's Day
On Women's Day
Company profile

Date started: 2015

Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki

Based: Dubai

Sector: Online grocery delivery

Staff: 200

Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends

Results

6pm: Dubai Trophy – Conditions (TB) $100,000 (Turf) 1,200m 

Winner: Silent Speech, William Buick (jockey), Charlie Appleby
(trainer) 

6.35pm: Jumeirah Derby Trial – Conditions (TB) $60,000 (T)
1,800m 

Winner: Island Falcon, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor 

7.10pm: UAE 2000 Guineas Trial – Conditions (TB) $60,000 (Dirt)
1,400m 

Winner: Rawy, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer 

7.45pm: Al Rashidiya – Group 2 (TB) $180,000 (T) 1,800m 

Winner: Desert Fire, Hector Crouch, Saeed bin Suroor 

8.20pm: Al Fahidi Fort – Group 2 (TB) $180,000 (T) 1,400m 

Winner: Naval Crown, William Buick, Charlie Appleby 

8.55pm: Dubawi Stakes – Group 3 (TB) $150,000 (D) 1,200m 

Winner: Al Tariq, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watsons 

9.30pm: Aliyah – Rated Conditions (TB) $80,000 (D) 2,000m 

Winner: Dubai Icon, Patrick Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor  

Defence review at a glance

• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”

• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems

• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.

• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%

• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade

• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels

Children who witnessed blood bath want to help others

Aged just 11, Khulood Al Najjar’s daughter, Nora, bravely attempted to fight off Philip Spence. Her finger was injured when she put her hand in between the claw hammer and her mother’s head.

As a vital witness, she was forced to relive the ordeal by police who needed to identify the attacker and ensure he was found guilty.

Now aged 16, Nora has decided she wants to dedicate her career to helping other victims of crime.

“It was very horrible for her. She saw her mum, dying, just next to her eyes. But now she just wants to go forward,” said Khulood, speaking about how her eldest daughter was dealing with the trauma of the incident five years ago. “She is saying, 'mama, I want to be a lawyer, I want to help people achieve justice'.”

Khulood’s youngest daughter, Fatima, was seven at the time of the attack and attempted to help paramedics responding to the incident.

“Now she wants to be a maxillofacial doctor,” Khulood said. “She said to me ‘it is because a maxillofacial doctor returned your face, mama’. Now she wants to help people see themselves in the mirror again.”

Khulood’s son, Saeed, was nine in 2014 and slept through the attack. While he did not witness the trauma, this made it more difficult for him to understand what had happened. He has ambitions to become an engineer.

SERIES SCHEDULE

First Test, Galle International Stadium
July 26-30
Second Test, Sinhalese Sports Club Ground
August 3-7
Third Test, Pallekele International Stadium
August 12-16
First ODI, Rangiri Dambulla Stadium
August 20
Second ODI, Pallekele International Stadium
August 24
Third ODI, Pallekele International Stadium
August 27
Fourth ODI, R Premadasa Stadium
August 31
Fifth ODI, R Premadasa Stadium
September 3
T20, R Premadasa Stadium
September 6

Updated: April 07, 2024, 3:49 AM
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