From the Madrid conference in 1991 until the Obama administration’s trilateral summits between the Palestinians and Israelis two decades later, successive US presidents have tried to secure the presence of both parties at the table in negotiating peace. But that changed on Tuesday.
As US President Donald Trump unveiled his “deal of the century”, outlining a proposal for peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis, on Tuesday, only one of the major stakeholders in the conflict was present.
No Palestinians were on stage with Mr Trump and the Jordanians declined an invitation to come to the White House. No representatives from Egypt or Saudi Arabia, historically two of the main interlocutors in the peace initiative, attended.
Riyadh championed the Arab Peace Initiative in 2002, and its role has been heavily sought by successive administrations to sponsor a solution. Egypt, having formal relations with Israel, is a key conduit for negotiations and regularly brokers ceasefires between Hamas in Gaza and Israel.
Instead, the Trump plan roll-out on Tuesday featured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was indicted on three corruption charges that same morning.
The plan is a shift in US approach. In the past, the US hosted the parties, or issued parameters (under Bill Clinton), or supervised secret negotiations with the help of the Europeans (Oslo) or Egyptians (Taba).
Under George W Bush, it presented a “road map for peace” that left any final settlement to negotiations between the parties on five main issues: settlements, refugees, borders, Jerusalem and security.
But the 180-page plan that Mr Trump endorsed allows Israel to keep all settlements in the West Bank, and to impose its law in the Jordan Valley.
It also opposes the return of Palestinian refugees to the state of Israel and does not include a timeline for the end of Israeli occupation of the West Bank.
In a briefing, US ambassador to Israel David Friedman said when asked if Israel would have to wait to annex settlements: "No, Israel does not have to wait at all.”
Jordan and the Palestinian Authority rejected the plan and called for a Palestinian state on 1967 borders.
But speaking on CNN, Mr Trump’s son-in-law and main architect of the plan, Jared Kushner, said: “I’m not looking at the world as it existed in 1967. I’m looking at the world as it exists in 2020.”
While Mr Trump endorsed for the first time a two-state solution, it relies on Palestinians meeting conditions set out for them in the document, such as “complete dismantling" of the militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and abandoning extremism.
Ghaith Al Omari, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, did not foresee any Arab state accepting the plan.
"Looking at the map that President Trump tweeted, I can't see any Arab state accepting this," Mr Al Omari, a former negotiator for the Palestinians, told The National.
“Settlements remain in place, the map radically diverges from the 1967 borders as laid out in the Arab Peace Initiative, and it allows the annexation of the Jordan Valley, which is a core issue for both the Palestinians and the Jordanians.”
He said that these were all reasons that the plan would not gain Arab support.
The Palestinian leadership cut all diplomatic communications with the Trump team after the embassy move to Jerusalem in December 2017.
“They [the Palestinians] are not focusing on the content of the plan but the Trump administration, which they view as an unacceptable mediator due to its previous policies,” Mr Al Omari said.
As Israel heads into its third election in a year in four weeks and Mr Trump faces an impeachment trial, a breakthrough in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict remains unlikely.
The fate of the current plan, and future negotiations, may hinge instead on the US presidential election in November and whether Mr Trump wins a second term or is succeeded by a Democrat who views the conflict differently.
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: 2018 GMC Terrain
Price, base / as tested: Dh94,600 / Dh159,700
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Power: 252hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 353Nm @ 2,500rpm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.4L / 100km
Top 5 concerns globally:
1. Unemployment
2. Spread of infectious diseases
3. Fiscal crises
4. Cyber attacks
5. Profound social instability
Top 5 concerns in the Mena region
1. Energy price shock
2. Fiscal crises
3. Spread of infectious diseases
4. Unmanageable inflation
5. Cyber attacks
Source: World Economic Foundation
A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
