The Palestinian ambassador to the UN broke down in tears on Wednesday as he pleaded with the Security Council to address the deepening crisis in Gaza.
“I have grandchildren. I know what they mean to their families, and to see the situation of the Palestinians without us having hearts to do something is beyond the ability of any normal human being to tolerate,” Riyad Mansour said, his voice shaking, at one point pounding the table during his emotional speech.
He condemned attacks on civilians, whether Palestinian or Israeli, but denounced what he called “double standards” in global responses.
“Nothing can justify attacking civilians … we are human beings. We are proud Palestinians. We should be treated exactly like everybody else,” he said.
Mr Mansour accused the international community of ignoring the plight of Palestinians. “You cannot just see what you want in the mirror and ignore the huge elephant in the room, the Palestinian people,” he said.
“I can assure you that we are rooted in Palestine more than the olive trees … we will not wither away. We are staying in our homeland, and we will attain our inalienable rights, hopefully sooner than later."
Israel’s UN envoy, Danny Danon, reminded Mr Mansour of the words of Israel’s former prime minister, Golda Meir, who held office five decades ago: “Peace will come when you will love your children more than you hate us.”
Mr Danon accused UN agencies of blocking aid deliveries to Gaza, claiming hundreds of lorries loaded with supplies were stuck at border crossings due to the UN’s failure to distribute them.
“As we speak, there are more than 400 lorries already on the other side of the fence, waiting to be distributed, but the UN has failed to pick them up,” he told reporters before the Security Council meeting on Gaza. “We opened the crossings. We provided safe routes for those lorries. But the UN did not show up."
About 600 lorries entered the enclave daily during a ceasefire this year, according to the UN.
Mr Danon also rejected allegations by UN and Gaza health officials that Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians trying to gain access to aid through a new US-backed distribution system on Tuesday. At least one Palestinian was killed and 48 others were wounded, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
“There were a few riots. It took the American teams some time to take control of the situation, but I can say it out loud: We didn’t shoot anyone over there,” Mr Danon said.
He said Israel would continue allowing UN-facilitated aid into Gaza while the new US-backed mechanism expands across the enclave.
A day after the incident, the World Food Programme said “hordes of hungry people” broke into one of the agency's warehouses in central Gaza on Wednesday, with initial reports indicating that two people had died and several were injured.
“Gaza needs an immediate scale-up of food assistance. This is the only way to reassure people that they will not starve,” the WFP said in a statement.
With severe shortages of food, water and medicine, Palestinians in Gaza have grown increasingly desperate. There have been long queues forming at aid centres and reports of violent clashes over limited supplies.
The EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, condemned Israel's military operations in the enclave.
“The disproportionate use of force and the deaths of civilians cannot be tolerated. The continued targeting of civilian infrastructure is unacceptable,” she said in a statement.
Ms Kallas repeated that humanitarian aid “must never be politicised or militarised” and recalled the role of the UN in distributing humanitarian assistance.
“The EU reiterates its urgent call for the immediate, unimpeded and sustained resumption of aid at scale, according to the needs of the civilian population in Gaza.”
Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
The specs: 2018 Range Rover Velar R-Dynamic HSE
Price, base / as tested: Dh263,235 / Dh420,000
Engine: 3.0-litre supercharged V6
Power 375hp @ 6,500rpm
Torque: 450Nm @ 3,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 9.4L / 100kms
Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah To The Last Goodbye
By Dave Lory with Jim Irvin
Bookshops: A Reader's History by Jorge Carrión (translated from the Spanish by Peter Bush),
Biblioasis
Company profile
Date started: December 24, 2018
Founders: Omer Gurel, chief executive and co-founder and Edebali Sener, co-founder and chief technology officer
Based: Dubai Media City
Number of employees: 42 (34 in Dubai and a tech team of eight in Ankara, Turkey)
Sector: ConsumerTech and FinTech
Cashflow: Almost $1 million a year
Funding: Series A funding of $2.5m with Series B plans for May 2020
Teachers' pay - what you need to know
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
MATCH INFO:
Second Test
Pakistan v Australia, Tuesday-Saturday, 10am daily at Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Entrance is free
Sonchiriya
Director: Abhishek Chaubey
Producer: RSVP Movies, Azure Entertainment
Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Manoj Bajpayee, Ashutosh Rana, Bhumi Pednekar, Ranvir Shorey
Rating: 3/5
Famous left-handers
- Marie Curie
- Jimi Hendrix
- Leonardo Di Vinci
- David Bowie
- Paul McCartney
- Albert Einstein
- Jack the Ripper
- Barack Obama
- Helen Keller
- Joan of Arc
Last five meetings
2013: South Korea 0-2 Brazil
2002: South Korea 2-3 Brazil
1999: South Korea 1-0 Brazil
1997: South Korea 1-2 Brazil
1995: South Korea 0-1 Brazil
Note: All friendlies
Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
Company: Instabug
Founded: 2013
Based: Egypt, Cairo
Sector: IT
Employees: 100
Stage: Series A
Investors: Flat6Labs, Accel, Y Combinator and angel investors
Jumanji: The Next Level
Director: Jake Kasdan
Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Jack Black, Nick Jonas
Two out of five stars
Tips to keep your car cool
- Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
- Park in shaded or covered areas
- Add tint to windows
- Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
- Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
- Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Bundesliga fixtures
Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)
Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)
Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)