Washington announced on Wednesday the resumption of funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), reversing a three-year halt under former president Donald Trump.
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the administration, working with Congress, plans to "restart US economic, development, and humanitarian assistance for the Palestinian people. This includes $75 million in economic and development assistance in the West Bank and Gaza, $10m for peacebuilding programmes through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and $150m in humanitarian assistance for the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)."
The State Department made the announcement reinstating a long-held policy that was abandoned by the previous administration.
Over the years, the US had become the largest single donor to UNRWA, giving $364m to the organisation in 2017, amounting to 30 per cent of its total funding.
The organisation oversees support for 5.5 million people across the Middle East, including schools and humanitarian facilities for Palestinian refugees in Gaza, Lebanon and Jordan.
The restoration of funding is part of a series of decisions the administration of US President Joe Biden is undertaking to repair ties with the Palestinians.
Part of the funding will go to support the East Jerusalem Hospital Network, whose aid had been suspended under Mr Trump.
Mr Blinken stressed that the resumption of the assistance "serves important US interests and values. It provides critical relief to those in great need, fosters economic development and supports Israeli-Palestinian understanding, security co-ordination and stability. It also aligns with the values and interests of our allies and partners."
He reiterated the US commitment to advance towards a negotiated two-state solution.
State Department spokesman Ned Price said that “it is fair to say we have been gratified by the reaction we had from members of Congress … who recognise that the aid we offer today is consistent with our interests."
“All of this aid is absolutely consistent with US law and statute,” he added.
Mr Price stressed that the development partners have an aggressive mechanism ensuring the aid will reach those who are in need and which can identify end users who will receive the assistance.
"We take UNRWA oversight seriously…I am not going to characterise what the previous administration has done.”
Mr Price added that with the resumption of aid, the US now has “a seat at the table” in engaging with UNRWA on issues of reform and accountability.
Asked by The National if regional consultations preceded this decision, Mr Price said the administration undertook "extensive consultations", including with people in region, and said that the administration hopes "to see other countries step up to the plate" in increasing their funding.
In a memo obtained exclusively by The National last month, the deputy assistant secretary of state for Israeli-Palestinian affairs, Hady Amr, outlined such steps.
“We are planning a full range of economic, security and humanitarian assistance programmes, including through [UNRWA]. Prior to the fuller launch, we plan to announce $15m in Covid-related humanitarian assistance,” the memo said.
The Covid assistance was announced by the US mission to the UN this month.
This would be a very needed significant amount of money to address the challenges that
UNRWA is facing
Riyad Mansour, Palestinian envoy
to the United Nations
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian envoy to the UN, praised the US decision.
“This would be a very needed significant amount of money to address the challenges that UNRWA is facing and perhaps it is a good omen that we are meeting today,” Mr Mansour said during online UN talks focused on Palestinian issues.
“UNRWA is an extremely important agency that deals with the needs of the Palestinian refugees in all areas of its operation in the occupied territory and outside,” said Mr Mansour.
Ghaith Al Omari, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said the resumption of aid to UNRWA is not surprising and is consistent with traditional US policy.
"The decision is in keeping with the Biden administration's approach of a gradual return to US policy that existed under multiple Democratic and Republican administrations prior to Donald Trump," Mr Al Omari told The National.
The expert and former negotiator with the Palestinian team gave it increased significance due to developments in Jordan, where a lot of this funding goes.
“Beside its symbolic importance, it will have a concrete impact on the humanitarian situation in the West Bank and Gaza, given UNRWA's extensive network of educational, health and other facilities … but it also comes at a crucial time for Jordan, which has spearheaded international efforts to fund UNRWA since the US cut off its funding,” he said.
“Recent events in Jordan have highlighted the importance of the kingdom’s stability and refunding UNRWA will contribute to supporting this crucial US ally,” Mr Al Omari added.
The Biden administration has also resumed diplomatic contact with the Palestinian Authority, which had been on hold since 2018.
“[The resumption of aid] means re-engagement with a strong partner who has accompanied the agency since its creation, and for decades, and the partnership has also gone beyond just a financial supporter to the agency," Philippe Lazzarini, the agency's commissioner general, said on Wednesday.
Ramallah welcomed the announcement of the aid, with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh calling on the Biden administration to work with the Quartet towards the establishment of a Palestinian state.
He added that he hoped it would “open a new political horizon that leads to a Palestinian independent state.”
“We aspire not just to restore US financial assistance, which nevertheless is significant, but also to resume political ties with the United States that would fulfill our people's legitimate rights in establishing an independent state with Jerusalem as capital, reopening the US consulate in occupied Jerusalem and for the US to pressure Israel on the issue of settlement expansion in the occupied territories, especially the ethnic cleansing in occupied Jerusalem,” he said.
“Israel is strongly opposed to the anti-Israel and anti-Semitic activity happening in UNRWA's facilities. We believe that this UN agency for so-called refugees," Israel's ambassador to the US and the UN, Gilad Erdan, said after the decision was announced.
"UNRWA is an organisation that engages in political advocacy and enables incitement to violence, therefore it should not exist in its current form," the ambassador said.
"Israel maintains an intensive dialogue with the United States on numerous issues. In this context, the US raised the renewal of American aid to the Palestinians and we discussed its impact on the common interests of Israel and the US. Regarding UNRWA, Israel's position is that the organisation in its current form perpetuates the conflict and does not contribute to its resolution," the Israeli Foreign Ministry said.
"The renewal of aid to UNRWA should be accompanied by substantial and necessary changes in the nature, goals and conduct of the organisation,”
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
Klopp at the Kop
Matches 68; Wins 35; Draws 19; Losses 14; Goals For 133; Goals Against 82
- Eighth place in Premier League in 2015/16
- Runners-up in Europa League in 2016
- Runners-up in League Cup in 2016
- Fourth place in Premier League in 2016/17
Key Points
- Protests against President Omar Al Bashir enter their sixth day
- Reports of President Bashir's resignation and arrests of senior government officials
TV (UAE time);
OSN Sports: from 10am
Racecard
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- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
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Can NRIs vote in the election?
Indians residing overseas cannot cast their ballot abroad
Non-resident Indians or NRIs can vote only by going to a polling booth in their home constituency
There are about 3.1 million NRIs living overseas
Indians have urged political parties to extend the right to vote to citizens residing overseas
A committee of the Election Commission of India approved of proxy voting for non-resident Indians
Proxy voting means that a person can authorise someone residing in the same polling booth area to cast a vote on his behalf.
This option is currently available for the armed forces, police and government officials posted outside India
A bill was passed in the lower house of India’s parliament or the Lok Sabha to extend proxy voting to non-resident Indians
However, this did not come before the upper house or Rajya Sabha and has lapsed
The issue of NRI voting draws a huge amount of interest in India and overseas
Over the past few months, Indians have received messages on mobile phones and on social media claiming that NRIs can cast their votes online
The Election Commission of India then clarified that NRIs could not vote online
The Election Commission lodged a complaint with the Delhi Police asking it to clamp down on the people spreading misinformation
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
The five pillars of Islam
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MATCH INFO
Austria 2
Hinteregger (53'), Schopf (69')
Germany 1
Ozil (11')
Contracted list
Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, Tim Paine, Matt Renshaw, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye.
Ultra processed foods
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Cologne v Union Berlin (5.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Borussia Dortmund (5.30pm)
Hertha Berlin v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.30pm)
Paderborn v Werder Bremen (5.30pm)
Wolfsburg v Freiburg (5.30pm)
Bayern Munich v Borussia Monchengladbach (8.30pm)
Sunday
Mainz v Augsburg (5.30pm)
Schalke v Bayer Leverkusen (8pm)
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Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The five pillars of Islam
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Itcan profile
Founders: Mansour Althani and Abdullah Althani
Based: Business Bay, with offices in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and India
Sector: Technology, digital marketing and e-commerce
Size: 70 employees
Revenue: On track to make Dh100 million in revenue this year since its 2015 launch
Funding: Self-funded to date
Neil Thomson – THE BIO
Family: I am happily married to my wife Liz and we have two children together.
Favourite music: Rock music. I started at a young age due to my father’s influence. He played in an Indian rock band The Flintstones who were once asked by Apple Records to fly over to England to perform there.
Favourite book: I constantly find myself reading The Bible.
Favourite film: The Greatest Showman.
Favourite holiday destination: I love visiting Melbourne as I have family there and it’s a wonderful place. New York at Christmas is also magical.
Favourite food: I went to boarding school so I like any cuisine really.
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