King Abdullah II of Jordan, right, with Jared Kushner in Amman on  August 22, 2017 during the White House senior adviser's tour of the Middle East to discuss resuming the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. The Royal Hashemite Court Twitter via AP
King Abdullah II of Jordan, right, with Jared Kushner in Amman on August 22, 2017 during the White House senior adviser's tour of the Middle East to discuss resuming the Israeli-Palestinian peace proShow more

Kushner's Middle East trip could help boost Arab cover for Israeli-Palestinian peace



Jared Kushner's first solo trip to the Middle East ended with no clear progress in the US pursuit of Israeli-Palestinian peace, although the widening gap between the two parties could be overcome by an intensified push for regional support, according to a former Washington intermediary.

Mr Kushner and his delegation concluded their four-day trip in Ramallah on Thursday by meeting Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and his negotiating team. Prior to that, Mr Kushner and Dina Powell, US deputy national security adviser, Jason Greenblatt, the coordinator for the peace process, and Tim Lenderking, deputy assistant secretary of state for Arabian Gulf affairs, held talks with Israeli, Egyptian, Saudi, Emirati, Jordanian and Qatari leaders.

"They want to garner Arab political and financial support for the Palestinians," Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian ambassador to Washington, told The National ahead of the trip. Mr Zomlot had hoped the US delegation would "publicly endorse a vision for a solution" during the trip, but the former US envoy to the peace process, Dennis Ross, had a more gloomy outlook.

“The gaps, the level of distrust, and the political realities of both [Israeli PM Benjamin] Netanyahu and Mr Abbas make it nearly impossible for them to do anything without an Arab cover," said Mr Ross, a distinguished fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

"Mr Abbas can only move in a context where Arab states are creating an explanation for him taking steps," said Mr Ross, who served under presidents George Bush Sr, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. The US delegation's stops in the Gulf, Amman and Cairo before Israel and the West Bank "reflect an understanding that the circle of peacemaking has to be broadened and include the Arab states", he told The National.

While Mr Zomlot viewed the Arab Peace Initiative launched in 2002 that offers normalisation of ties with Israel in return for its withdrawal to pre-1967 borders as a framework for regional peace efforts, Mr Ross hinted at another angle to seduce Arab partners: Iran.

“If the Trump administration can show how it will counter or contain the Iranians in very practical terms,” he said, that “can be used to draw the Arabs into a more active role in  peacemaking”.

He noted that Arab countries would still require “a move from the Israelis toward the Palestinians that they could point to as a way of justifying any outreach to Israel.”

Beyond greeting photographers with a grin, even when standing next to Egyptian president Abdel Fattah El Sisi hours after the US withheld $290 million in aid to Cairo, Mr Kushner offered no indications of possible progress during his trip. Mr Ross anticipated that now “the administration will need to decide its next step — parallel moves or statements worked out with each of the parties, resuming negotiations with some agreed basis, some broad agreement on shared principles, or some combination of all these elements”.

He cautioned that “simply resuming negotiations without no understandings will produce nothing but talks that go nowhere. Given the level of disbelief and cynicism, that is the last thing that is needed.”

Key steps in such direction could include “Israel making it clear it will no longer build outside the settlement blocs as a way of demonstrating a commitment to two states; the Palestinians ending preferential payments to the families of those who commit terror or violence against Israelis — to show terror is not being legitimised against Israel”. From the Arab side, some sort of public outreach to Israel, to show a threshold is being crossed, could be expected, Mr Ross said.

Asked if the administration should present its vision for peace based on the two-state solution, something that the US President has refrained from doing so far, Mr Ross “they do have to lay out there support for two states as an end objective and can say it is clear there is no other outcome that could be agreed to by the parties".

“That can show they did not change what President Trump said — simply took account of what the parties could agree to.”

He cautioned, however, that any vision needs to be part of the administration's strategy, not a substitute for it.

Mr Kushner and his delegation were expected to return to Washington on Friday.

Emergency

Director: Kangana Ranaut

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry 

Rating: 2/5

Our legal consultant

Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Cryopreservation: A timeline
  1. Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
  2. Ovarian tissue surgically removed
  3. Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
  4. Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
  5. Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
Paatal Lok season two

Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy 

Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong

Rating: 4.5/5

Honeymoonish
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Elie%20El%20Samaan%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENour%20Al%20Ghandour%2C%20Mahmoud%20Boushahri%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners

Schedule:

Pakistan v Sri Lanka:
28 Sep-2 Oct, 1st Test, Abu Dhabi
6-10 Oct, 2nd Test (day-night), Dubai
13 Oct, 1st ODI, Dubai
16 Oct, 2nd ODI, Abu Dhabi
18 Oct, 3rd ODI, Abu Dhabi
20 Oct, 4th ODI, Sharjah
23 Oct, 5th ODI, Sharjah
26 Oct, 1st T20I, Abu Dhabi
27 Oct, 2nd T20I, Abu Dhabi
29 Oct, 3rd T20I, Lahore

COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How to avoid crypto fraud
  • Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
  • Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
  • Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
  • Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
  • Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
  • Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
  • Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20WallyGPT%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2014%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESaeid%20and%20Sami%20Hejazi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20raised%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%247.1%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2020%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%20round%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

The Light of the Moon

Director: Jessica M Thompson

Starring: Stephanie Beatriz, Michael Stahl-David

Three stars

UAE's final round of matches
  • Sep 1, 2016 Beat Japan 2-1 (away)
  • Sep 6, 2016 Lost to Australia 1-0 (home)
  • Oct 6, 2016 Beat Thailand 3-1 (home)
  • Oct 11, 2016 Lost to Saudi Arabia 3-0 (away)
  • Nov 15, 2016 Beat Iraq 2-0 (home)
  • Mar 23, 2017 Lost to Japan 2-0 (home)
  • Mar 28, 2017 Lost to Australia 2-0 (away)
  • June 13, 2017 Drew 1-1 with Thailand (away)
  • Aug 29, 2017 v Saudi Arabia (home)
  • Sep 5, 2017 v Iraq (away)
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia