Israel and Hamas 'close to prisoner swap' in Egypt-brokered talks

Hamas and Israel could be about to agree on an Egypt-mediated prisoner swap, security officials in Cairo said on Wednesday.

The Egyptian officials said that Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's government wants the deal implemented before it will allow the reconstruction of Gaza to go ahead.

The officials said an agreement could be announced "very soon", but did not give a timetable.

They said the militant Palestinian group Hamas wanted Egypt to extract a pledge from Israel to agree to a three-year truce in Gaza. Israel wants Hamas to offer assurances that it will not take advantage of the planned reconstruction to upgrade its military capabilities, especially its arsenal of rockets.

According to Israeli media reports, Hamas is holding two Israeli civilians – Avner Mengistu and Hisham Al Sayed. It also has the bodies of two Israeli soldiers – Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin – who were killed in the 2014 war between the sides.

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Hamas wants Israel to release more than 1,100 prisoners in exchange. Israel, according to the Egyptian officials, want to release the Palestinian prisoners in batches, starting with older inmates, women and minors.

Hamas leaders have been indirectly negotiating the deal with Israel while in Cairo this week, with officials from Egypt’s General Directorate of Intelligence, the country’s top spy agency, acting as a go-between.

Israel does not directly negotiate with Hamas, which it considers a terrorist group.

Egyptian intelligence officials have traditionally taken the lead in dealing with both Israel and the Palestinians.

Egypt, which has borders with Gaza and Israel, negotiated a truce in May that ended an 11-day war between the two in which at least 250 Palestinians were killed in hundreds of Israeli air strikes on Gaza. Rockets fired by Gaza militants killed 13 people in Israel.

Palestinian women hold pictures of prisoners held in Israeli jails during a protest calling for their release yesterday in Gaza City.

The Egyptians have been keen to pave the way for a resumption of Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, which collapsed seven years ago.

Their top priority is to strengthen the truce between Hamas and Israel, and reconcile Palestinian factions as a precursor to Gaza reconstruction, possible Palestinians elections and, finally, a resumption of peace talks.

Hamas and the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority have been at odds since the militant group in 2007 seized Gaza from the PA, which exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank.

Egypt has traditionally played a mediating role in the Arab-Israeli conflict alongside the US. Its role has been made possible, and credible, by its own US-sponsored 1979 peace treaty with Israel and its common borders with Gaza and Israel.

SCHEDULE

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15.00-17.00 Extra free practice

Friday, December 7
09.10-09.30 F4 free practice
09.40-10.00 F4 time trials
10.15-11.15 F1 free practice
14.00 F4 race 1
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Saturday, December 8
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10.15-11.15 F1 free practice
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15.30 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi

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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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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.