Gazans stage rare protest against Hamas rule

Protests broke out across the Gaza Strip on Sunday in a rare display of dissatisfaction with the Hamas government amid increasingly difficult living conditions, a dwindling economy and allegations of corruption.

Hamas security forces quickly dispersed the protesters, who were burning flags of the militant group. Security personnel also destroyed demonstrators' phones, witnesses said.

Crowds in the city of Khan Younis chanted “Where is the electricity and where is the gas?” and “What a shame. What a shame.”

Protesters also criticised Hamas for deducting fees of about $15 fee from the monthly $100 stipend given to Gaza's poorest families by the state of Qatar.

Sunday's demonstrations were called for by activists via an Instagram page called "Al Virus Al Sakher" (Satirical Virus) in a post on July 16.

"We have been resilient for years ... we will not be silent about our right to life's fundamental needs. We will not be silent over lies and exploitation," the post read.

The activists called for a solution to Gaza's chronic power cuts and for measures to be taken to "satisfy Gazans' hunger", such as by providing them with sufficient money through grants and salaries.

There was no immediate comment from the Hamas authorities.

More demonstrations have been called for August 4.

Also on Sunday, Hamas and the West Bank's ruling Fatah party held talks in the Egyptian coastal city of Alamein in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to reconcile and form a unity government.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is set to meet Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El Sisi on Monday for further talks.

Hamas and Fatah could reconcile if the militant group agrees to join the Palestinian Liberation Office (PLO) – which recognises Israel as a state.

Hamas currently denies Israel's right to exist.

"If Hamas recognises the PLO Charter, it effectively becomes Fatah. The existence of Israel is an existential issue for Hamas," Washington Institute senior fellow Ghaith Al Omari, who has previously held positions in the Palestinian Authority, told The National.

Mr Abbas, who is also head of the Fatah ruling party, criticised Hamas's 2007 "coup" in Gaza that saw the militant group overthrow the Palestinian Authority and led to an Israeli and Egyptian blockade on the territory that continues to this day.

Last year, nearly half of all Gazans (46.6 per cent) were unemployed, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics said in a report published in February. That is equivalent to 239,000 people.

"There is still a wide gap in unemployment rate between the West Bank and Gaza Strip, as this rate reached 45 per cent in Gaza Strip compared to 13 per cent in the West Bank," the findings showed.

"On gender level, unemployment rate for females reached 40 per cent compared to 20 per cent for males in Palestine."

Additionally, the majority of those employed (89 per cent) were earning less than the minimum wage ($508) at an average of about $188 per month, it said.

Gazans also suffer from power cuts that can last up to 10 hours at a time, with supply interrupted throughout the rest of the day.

Most Gazans, about 80 per cent, rely on humanitarian aid and cannot afford any alternative sources of power that come at extra cost, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in an appeal for donations after an exchange of attacks with Israel in 2021 that killed 261 Palestinians, including 67 children.

"The ability of people in Gaza to rebound is an unfortunate testament to the harsh reality they live within the face of repeated escalations," William Schomburg, the ICRC's head of sub-delegation in Gaza, said in May.

"Beyond the visible humanitarian consequences of these hostilities, the unseen scars run deep and will continue to affect Gaza’s young and struggling population for years to come."

The damage to residential and commercial buildings, schools, health centres, water and power networks, roads and public buildings also resulted in the disruption of basic and vital services, the UN said.

"The overall estimated cost of damages due to the 2021 escalations is $108,278,755, with the housing sector being the most severely affected ($35,008,917, representing 32.3 per cent of the total costs), followed by the roads and transportation sector ($22,433,832, representing 20.7 per cent) and the energy sector ($21,915,104, representing 20.2 per cent)," the UN found in an assessment published last year.

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.”