Insight and opinion from The National’s editorial leadership
September 02, 2024
Having received the news on Saturday night that six Israeli hostages’ bodies were recovered from Gaza, Israel’s President, Isaac Herzog, apologised “for failing to bring them home safely”. For nearly a year, Israel has been gripped by the fates of those who were taken captive by Hamas during a murderous assault against mostly civilian targets in Israel on October 7. Ninety-seven are thought to remain in Gaza.
The Hostage Families Forum has accused Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, of “abandoning” their loved ones by prioritising an unwinnable war in Gaza over the diplomacy needed to reach a ceasefire and see more hostages released. Mr Netanyahu says his government’s invasion of Gaza, nearing the end of its eleventh month, aims to free the hostages through a combination of rescue operations and military pressure on Hamas.
Of the 251 Israelis and foreign citizens kidnapped on October 7, 117 have been returned alive. Only eight of them were rescued by the Israeli military; 105 were released through a diplomatically brokered prisoner exchange and four were released by Hamas on humanitarian grounds. Mr Netanyahu’s “military pressure” strategy has not forced the release of a single hostage, though it has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians and devastated the lives of close to two million Gazans.
Netanyahu’s 'military pressure' has not forced the release of a single hostage, though it has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians
Sunday marked the start of a three-day pause in Israeli military operations in Gaza, during which Israel has agreed to allow the UN to run a polio vaccination drive after initially rejecting it. The effort, funded in part by the UAE, will see 640,000 children under the age of 10 vaccinated against the virus, which emerged in Gaza this year for the first time in a quarter of a century.
The vaccination campaign is a positive development in a very dire situation, and would not have been necessary had Israel abided by its obligations under international humanitarian law during the war. It should also be used to bring renewed focus on the need for a ceasefire deal, but Israel has already undermined that opportunity by extending the conflict to the West Bank. Last week, the military launched an offensive in several West Bank towns, killing at least 20 Palestinians, including civilians, and raising fears of a second front being opened. The tension has been compounded by news in recent months of abuse of Palestinian detainees held in Israeli military prisons.
The increasingly fraught atmosphere in Israel extends to the government. A security cabinet meeting on Thursday night discussing the latest developments in ceasefire talks brokered by Qatar, the US and Egypt reportedly turned into a shouting match between Mr Netanyahu and his Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant. The point of contention was Mr Netanyahu’s plans for Israeli soldiers to continue occupying the Philadelphi Corridor, the boundary between Gaza and Egypt, despite Hamas and Egypt’s objections. Continued Israeli occupation in the corridor would not only violate previous agreements on how the Egypt-Gaza border is managed but also diminish the prospect of any long-term peace; a final settlement between Palestinians and Israelis requires less Palestinian territory under Israeli occupation – not more.
Mr Gallant suggested that offering some compromise on the issue would make a hostage deal more likely. Mr Netanyahu allegedly said holding Philadelphi was more important than that.
Perhaps the most striking element of the cabinet meeting was Mr Gallant’s warning that, one way or another, Mr Netanyahu would eventually be forced to give in to Hamas’s demands. Such a dire prediction from the country’s own Defence Minister speaks volumes about the prospect of Israel achieving any of its aims. In the meantime, the likelihood of more tragedies, like the deaths of Israeli hostages and many more innocent Palestinian civilians, only grows.
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Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
