The Israeli settlement of Sde Boaz is one of the nine settlements to be legalised by the Israeli cabinet in the West Bank. EPA
The Israeli settlement of Sde Boaz is one of the nine settlements to be legalised by the Israeli cabinet in the West Bank. EPA
The Israeli settlement of Sde Boaz is one of the nine settlements to be legalised by the Israeli cabinet in the West Bank. EPA
The Israeli settlement of Sde Boaz is one of the nine settlements to be legalised by the Israeli cabinet in the West Bank. EPA

World

US

UN Security Council resolution calls for halt to Israeli settlement expansion in West Bank

UAE-drafted resolution warns that settlement activities are 'dangerously imperilling' viability of two-state solution based on 1967 lines

Adla Massoud
Adla Massoud
United Nations

February 16, 2023

  • English
  • Arabic

A UAE-drafted UN Security Council resolution calling on Israel to “immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory” is expected to be put to a vote on Monday at the Security Council.

The resolution is in response to an announcement by Israel on Sunday that it would be legalising nine Jewish settler outposts in the occupied West Bank. Israel also said it would begin construction on 10,000 new settlement homes in the area.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who took office at the end of 2022, said on Sunday that the settlement plans had been made in response to Palestinian violence.

The draft resolution, seen by The National, warns that continuing Israeli settlement activities are “dangerously imperilling” the viability of the two-state solution based on 1967 lines.

In order for the resolution — which was drafted in co-ordination with the Palestinians — to be brought to a vote, it must secure the support of at least nine of the 15 members of the Security Council.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on Monday issued a statement stressing that Washington was “deeply troubled” by Israel's announcement of the new settlement units.

He said Washington opposed any unilateral moves by Israel that would “undermine” efforts to negotiate a two-state solution and that would “only serve to exacerbate tensions between Israelis and Palestinians”.

The US has been protecting Israel at the UN for years by using its veto against nearly all resolutions related to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Former US ambassador Dennis Ross, who was a senior adviser to Barack Obama when he was president, told The National that the UAE's drafting of a Security Council resolution calling on Israel to “immediately and completely cease all settlement activities” is a reminder that settlement activities are now also likely to have an effect on Abraham Accord signatories.

“I suspect the reason for the joint US, British, French, and German foreign minister statement criticising the Israeli decision … was to head off a [Security Council] resolution by showing this was not a business as usual response,” he said, referencing a document released on Monday.

“President [Joe] Biden's natural instinct is to veto UN Security Council resolutions against Israel.”

In a letter sent to the Security Council about the Israeli cabinet decision, Palestine's UN ambassador Riyad Mansour asked for “immediate action” and stressed the need to “implement all relevant UN resolutions towards bringing a halt to Israel’s aggressions against the Palestinian people”.

In 2016, the Obama administration abstained from voting on a UN Security Council resolution that demanded an immediate halt to all Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, enabling the measure to pass.

The resolution was approved, with 14 member states voting in favour, none voting against and one abstention.

Confrontation between Israeli security forces and Palestinians in Jenin — in pictures

  • Fire and smoke rise above buildings in Gaza City after Israel launched air strikes. AFP
    Fire and smoke rise above buildings in Gaza City after Israel launched air strikes. AFP
  • Palestinians demonstrate in the Jabalia refugee camp following an Israeli raid. AFP
    Palestinians demonstrate in the Jabalia refugee camp following an Israeli raid. AFP
  • Palestinians burn tyres and wave the national flag during a protest against the raid. AP
    Palestinians burn tyres and wave the national flag during a protest against the raid. AP
  • The funeral of one of the victims of the Israeli raid. AFP
    The funeral of one of the victims of the Israeli raid. AFP
  • Relatives mourn during the funeral in the occupied West Bank. AFP
    Relatives mourn during the funeral in the occupied West Bank. AFP
  • Israeli soldiers aim at Palestinians protesting over the expropriation of their land near the Jewish settlement of Beit El. AFP
    Israeli soldiers aim at Palestinians protesting over the expropriation of their land near the Jewish settlement of Beit El. AFP
  • A protester throws a stone at Israeli forces during the demonstration. AFP
    A protester throws a stone at Israeli forces during the demonstration. AFP
  • Israeli forces fire tear gas to disperse demonstrators near Beit El in the occupied West Bank. AFP
    Israeli forces fire tear gas to disperse demonstrators near Beit El in the occupied West Bank. AFP
  • Palestinians inspect the damage following the Israeli raid in Jenin. Reuters
    Palestinians inspect the damage following the Israeli raid in Jenin. Reuters
  • An elderly woman was among those killed in fighting with Israeli troops. Reuters
    An elderly woman was among those killed in fighting with Israeli troops. Reuters
  • The operation in the flashpoint town is the deadliest Israeli raid in recent months. Reuters
    The operation in the flashpoint town is the deadliest Israeli raid in recent months. Reuters
  • People gather around a building damaged and burned by Israeli troops during the raid. AFP
    People gather around a building damaged and burned by Israeli troops during the raid. AFP
  • An ambulance drives past an Israeli military vehicle as smoke rises from a fire set by Palestinian demonstrators. AFP
    An ambulance drives past an Israeli military vehicle as smoke rises from a fire set by Palestinian demonstrators. AFP
  • Palestinian stone-throwers gather amid confrontations with Israeli troops during a raid in Jenin in the occupied West Bank. Reuters
    Palestinian stone-throwers gather amid confrontations with Israeli troops during a raid in Jenin in the occupied West Bank. Reuters
  • Israeli military vehicles during the raid in Jenin. Reuters
    Israeli military vehicles during the raid in Jenin. Reuters
  • Palestinians run for cover. AFP
    Palestinians run for cover. AFP
  • Palestinians in Jenin confront Israeli forces. AFP
    Palestinians in Jenin confront Israeli forces. AFP
  • A Palestinian hurls a canister during the raid in the occupied West Bank. Reuters
    A Palestinian hurls a canister during the raid in the occupied West Bank. Reuters
  • Palestinian stone-throwers gather amid the raid in Jenin. Reuters
    Palestinian stone-throwers gather amid the raid in Jenin. Reuters
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation

- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut

- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.

- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.

- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.

 

History's medical milestones

1799 - First small pox vaccine administered

1846 - First public demonstration of anaesthesia in surgery

1861 - Louis Pasteur published his germ theory which proved that bacteria caused diseases

1895 - Discovery of x-rays

1923 - Heart valve surgery performed successfully for first time

1928 - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin

1953 - Structure of DNA discovered

1952 - First organ transplant - a kidney - takes place 

1954 - Clinical trials of birth control pill

1979 - MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, scanned used to diagnose illness and injury.

1998 - The first adult live-donor liver transplant is carried out

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo

Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm

Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km

Price: from Dh94,900

On sale: now

The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

Brief scores:

Toss: South Africa, chose to field

Pakistan: 177 & 294

South Africa: 431 & 43-1

Man of the Match: Faf du Plessis (South Africa)

Series: South Africa lead three-match series 2-0

Emergency

Director: Kangana Ranaut

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

Rating: 2/5

Racecard

6.35pm: The Madjani Stakes – Group 2 (PA) Dh97,500 (Dirt) 1,900m 

7.10pm: Evidenza – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,200m 

7.45pm: The Longines Conquest – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (D) 2,000m 

8.20: The Longines Elegant – Conditions (TB) Dh82,500 (D) 

8.35pm: The Dubai Creek Mile – Listed (TB) Dh132,500 (D) 1,600m 

9.30pm: Mirdif Stakes – Conditions (TB) Dh120,000 (D) 1,400m 

10.05pm: The Longines Record – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,900m  

'Jurassic%20World%20Dominion'
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Colin%20Trevorrow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStars%3A%20Sam%20Neill%2C%20Laura%20Dern%2C%20Jeff%20Goldblum%2C%20Bryce%20Dallas%20Howard%2C%20Chris%20Pratt%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

Brown/Black belt finals

3pm: 49kg female: Mayssa Bastos (BRA) v Thamires Aquino (BRA)
3.07pm: 56kg male: Hiago George (BRA) v Carlos Alberto da Silva (BRA)
3.14pm: 55kg female: Amal Amjahid (BEL) v Bianca Basilio (BRA)
3.21pm: 62kg male: Gabriel de Sousa (BRA) v Joao Miyao (BRA)
3.28pm: 62kg female: Beatriz Mesquita (BRA) v Ffion Davies (GBR)
3.35pm: 69kg male: Isaac Doederlein (BRA) v Paulo Miyao (BRA)
3.42pm: 70kg female: Thamara Silva (BRA) v Alessandra Moss (AUS)
3.49pm: 77kg male: Oliver Lovell (GBR) v Tommy Langarkar (NOR)
3.56pm: 85kg male: Faisal Al Ketbi (UAE) v Rudson Mateus Teles (BRA)
4.03pm: 90kg female: Claire-France Thevenon (FRA) v Gabreili Passanha (BRA)
4.10pm: 94kg male: Adam Wardzinski (POL) v Kaynan Duarte (BRA)
4.17pm: 110kg male: Yahia Mansoor Al Hammadi (UAE) v Joao Rocha (BRA

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

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.”

While you're here
Mobile phone packages comparison
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
  • Flexible work arrangements
  • Pension support
  • Mental well-being assistance
  • Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
  • Financial well-being incentives 
HIV on the rise in the region

A 2019 United Nations special analysis on Aids reveals 37 per cent of new HIV infections in the Mena region are from people injecting drugs.

New HIV infections have also risen by 29 per cent in western Europe and Asia, and by 7 per cent in Latin America, but declined elsewhere.

Egypt has shown the highest increase in recorded cases of HIV since 2010, up by 196 per cent.

Access to HIV testing, treatment and care in the region is well below the global average.  

Few statistics have been published on the number of cases in the UAE, although a UNAIDS report said 1.5 per cent of the prison population has the virus.

The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)

Team Angel Wolf Beach Blast takes place every Wednesday between 4:30pm and 5:30pm

While you're here
While you're here
While you're here
Why your domicile status is important

Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.

Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born. 

UK residents who have their permanent home ("domicile") outside the UK may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income. For example, they do not pay tax on foreign income or gains if they are less than £2,000 in the tax year and do not transfer that gain to a UK bank account.

A UK-domiciled person, however, is liable for UK tax on their worldwide income and gains when they are resident in the UK.

Iran's dirty tricks to dodge sanctions

There’s increased scrutiny on the tricks being used to keep commodities flowing to and from blacklisted countries. Here’s a description of how some work.

1 Going Dark

A common method to transport Iranian oil with stealth is to turn off the Automatic Identification System, an electronic device that pinpoints a ship’s location. Known as going dark, a vessel flicks the switch before berthing and typically reappears days later, masking the location of its load or discharge port.

2. Ship-to-Ship Transfers

A first vessel will take its clandestine cargo away from the country in question before transferring it to a waiting ship, all of this happening out of sight. The vessels will then sail in different directions. For about a third of Iranian exports, more than one tanker typically handles a load before it’s delivered to its final destination, analysts say.

3. Fake Destinations

Signaling the wrong destination to load or unload is another technique. Ships that intend to take cargo from Iran may indicate their loading ports in sanction-free places like Iraq. Ships can keep changing their destinations and end up not berthing at any of them.

4. Rebranded Barrels

Iranian barrels can also be rebranded as oil from a nation free from sanctions such as Iraq. The countries share fields along their border and the crude has similar characteristics. Oil from these deposits can be trucked out to another port and documents forged to hide Iran as the origin.

* Bloomberg

Updated: February 17, 2023, 4:32 AM
PalestineUNUAE