Palestinian protesters run during clashes with Israeli troops at Israel-Gaza border, in the southern Gaza Strip April 5, 2018. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa     TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Palestinian protesters run during clashes with Israeli troops at Israel-Gaza border. Ibraheem Abu Mustafa / Reuters

Palestinian killed by Israeli air strike on Gaza border: health ministry


The National

An Israeli airstrike on the Gaza border killed a Palestinian man on Thursday morning, the health ministry in the enclave said.

The unidentified man died in Shifa Hospital in Gaza city after being targeted by an Israeli strike near the border, as tensions increased ahead of new protests expected on Friday.

The Israeli army said an aircraft had "targeted an armed terrorist adjacent to the security fence".

It said it would "not allow any harm to the security of Israeli civilians." It did not specify if the strike was carried out by a drone or other aircraft.

Also, a Palestinian wounded in the mass protest along the border last week died of his wounds on Thursday, bringing the death toll to 20.

Eighteen Palestinians had already been killed by Israeli forces when Friday's protests led to violence.

The march was mobilised by Hamas and was the first in six weeks of protests set to culminate on May 15, the day after the anniversary of the official establishment of Israel and 70 years since Nakba - the displacement of 700,000 Palestinians

On Thursday a prominent campaign by an Israeli rights group urged soldiers to refuse to shoot at unarmed Palestinians.

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Read more:

Palestinian dies of wounds, bringing Gaza death toll to 18

Israel threatens military action in Gaza

Comment: Fourteen-year-old Ghada was the latest victim of Israel's dehumanising machine

Israel arrests 10 Palestinians over alleged naval attack

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The campaign by the B'Tselem NGO, which included advertisements in Israeli newspapers, led Israel's public security minister to suggest the group should be investigated for calling for sedition.

"Soldier, rules of engagement that can cause the death of civilians who do not pose a danger to human lives are illegal," the NGO said.

Israel has pledged to stop attempts to damage the heavily fortified fence on the Gaza border and to prevent illegal infiltrations, including with live fire if necessary.

Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan told Israel's army radio on Thursday that he had asked the attorney general to examine whether B'Tselem should be investigated for "calling for sedition."

"Concerning rules of engagement, soldiers treat any activity putting Israel's security in danger as terrorist acts," he said.

Israel's use of live fire last week has come under criticism from rights groups, while the European Union and UN chief Antonio Guterres have called for an independent investigation.

Gaza's ruling Hamas group have offered to pay $3,000 (Dh11,000) to the family of any Palestinian killed by Israeli troops along the border.

In a statement, the group said it would support the "family of each martyr" with $3,000, while those seriously wounded would receive $500.

The payments were being provided "in light of the difficult economic conditions experienced by our people in the Gaza Strip as a result of the continued Israeli siege".

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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.”

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