Washington's first special envoy for Palestinian Affairs has used his debut remarks to say that establishing relations between Israel and its Arab neighbours “is not a substitute” for “lifting up Palestinian lives”.
Negotiated under president Donald Trump, the 2020 Abraham Accords saw the UAE and Bahrain sign their first agreements, with Israel. Morocco and Sudan joined later.
“The Abraham Accords have enabled Arab governments to more closely engage with the government of Israel … they're not in any way a substitute for the important work that needs to be done to lift up Palestinian lives and to advance Israel-Palestinian peace,” said US Special Representative for Palestinian Affairs Hady Amr on Wednesday.
US President Joe Biden's administration vowed to expand those historic agreements in its national security strategy, amid criticism that the accords ignored the plight of Palestinians.
Mr Amr said the creation of his new role is “unprecedented” in Washington's efforts to bolster engagement with Palestinian issues.
“This move is completely consistent with the Biden administration's commitment to strengthen US engagement with the Palestinian people,” he said.
Mr Amr assumed his new role just after one of the bloodiest days in months of violence in the West Bank.
Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian man during a Tuesday operation in the occupied West Bank, raising to five the number of Palestinians killed in less than 24 hours of fighting. A female Israeli soldier was also seriously wounded when she was rammed by a car.
It is the latest in an escalating bout of violence in the aftermath of a Jerusalem bombing that killed two Israelis last week.
Mr Amr told reporters on Wednesday that Washington is “deeply aware of the tragic loss of life” in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and would not speculate on how a new historically right-wing Israeli government is going to engage with the issue.
“We are going to stay focused on our goal of working towards and advancing towards equal measures of security, freedom, and justice for Israelis and Palestinians alike,” he said.
The special representative also stressed he is committed to opening a consulate general in Jerusalem.
Israel remains Washington's closest ally in the region.
More than half of all foreign military aid that Mr Biden requested for the fiscal year of 2022 was earmarked for Israel, the Council of Foreign Relations said.
Under a 2016 memorandum, Washington is committed to providing nearly $4 billion to Israel each year, including $500 million for missile defence.
Following the Israel-Hamas conflict last year, the US provided an extra $1 billion in missile defence funding.
Mr Amr assumed the role of Special Representative for Palestinian Affairs, an unprecedented new office within US government, this month after serving as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Israeli and Palestinian Affairs and on former secretary of state John Kerry’s team working on Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
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Despacito's dominance in numbers
Released: 2017
Peak chart position: No.1 in more than 47 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Lebanon
Views: 5.3 billion on YouTube
Sales: With 10 million downloads in the US, Despacito became the first Latin single to receive Diamond sales certification
Streams: 1.3 billion combined audio and video by the end of 2017, making it the biggest digital hit of the year.
Awards: 17, including Record of the Year at last year’s prestigious Latin Grammy Awards, as well as five Billboard Music Awards
What She Ate: Six Remarkable Women & the Food That Tells Their Stories
Laura Shapiro
Fourth Estate
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
THE SPECS
Cadillac XT6 2020 Premium Luxury
Engine: 3.6L V-6
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 310hp
Torque: 367Nm
Price: Dh280,000
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Have you been targeted?
Tuan Phan of SimplyFI.org lists five signs you have been mis-sold to:
1. Your pension fund has been placed inside an offshore insurance wrapper with a hefty upfront commission.
2. The money has been transferred into a structured note. These products have high upfront, recurring commission and should never be in a pension account.
3. You have also been sold investment funds with an upfront initial charge of around 5 per cent. ETFs, for example, have no upfront charges.
4. The adviser charges a 1 per cent charge for managing your assets. They are being paid for doing nothing. They have already claimed massive amounts in hidden upfront commission.
5. Total annual management cost for your pension account is 2 per cent or more, including platform, underlying fund and advice charges.
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Ipaf in numbers
Established: 2008
Prize money: $50,000 (Dh183,650) for winners and $10,000 for those on the shortlist.
Winning novels: 13
Shortlisted novels: 66
Longlisted novels: 111
Total number of novels submitted: 1,780
Novels translated internationally: 66
FIXTURES
Thu Mar 15 – West Indies v Afghanistan, UAE v Scotland
Fri Mar 16 – Ireland v Zimbabwe
Sun Mar 18 – Ireland v Scotland
Mon Mar 19 – West Indies v Zimbabwe
Tue Mar 20 – UAE v Afghanistan
Wed Mar 21 – West Indies v Scotland
Thu Mar 22 – UAE v Zimbabwe
Fri Mar 23 – Ireland v Afghanistan
The top two teams qualify for the World Cup
Classification matches
The top-placed side out of Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong or Nepal will be granted one-day international status. UAE and Scotland have already won ODI status, having qualified for the Super Six.
Thu Mar 15 – Netherlands v Hong Kong, PNG v Nepal
Sat Mar 17 – 7th-8th place playoff, 9th-10th place play-off
