Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, right, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the presidential palace in Cairo on Monday. AFP
Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, right, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the presidential palace in Cairo on Monday. AFP
Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, right, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the presidential palace in Cairo on Monday. AFP
Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, right, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the presidential palace in Cairo on Monday. AFP

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Cairo for Gaza talks with Egypt's El Sisi


Hamza Hendawi
  • English
  • Arabic

Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza

Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian President, held talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi on Monday as senior diplomats from the US, Germany and the EU toured the region for discussions aimed at preventing the war in Gaza from spreading.

Mr Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, arrived in Cairo on Sunday night.

A brief statement by the Egyptian presidency said little about the content of the latest talks between the Mr El Sisi and the head of the PA, which governs the occupied West Bank.

It quoted Mr Abbas as saying the “only solution” to the escalation of hostilities in the region was “ending Israeli occupation of the land of the state of Palestine and its capital [East] Jerusalem”.

The statement said Mr Abbas also told his Egyptian counterpart the PA opposed any plans to forcefully evict Palestinians living in Gaza, the West Bank or East Jerusalem.

Cairo and Amman have in recent weeks stated their vehement rejection of suggestions by right-wing Israeli politicians that Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza should be forced to move and resettle in Jordan and Egypt.

The meeting took place as mediators were trying to hammer out a blueprint for the future of Gaza once hostilities between Hamas and Israel come to an end.

The war is now in its fourth month, after Hamas fighters on October 7 went on a deadly rampage in southern Israel, killing 1,200 and taking 240 hostages back to Gaza.

Israel responded with a devastating onslaught that has to date killed nearly 23,000 people, displaced 1.9 million of the territory's 2.3 million residents and laid to waste large built-up areas in the narrow, densely populated coastal enclave.

Israeli soldiers operating in Gaza, with the destruction of the Gaza Strip visible in the background. Reuters
Israeli soldiers operating in Gaza, with the destruction of the Gaza Strip visible in the background. Reuters

Egypt, Qatar and the US have been mediating between Israel and Hamas. Their mediation produced a temporary, week-long truce that ended on December 1 after the warring parties completed an exchange of hostages and prisoners.

The three countries have since been working towards another prisoner and hostage swap deal, a permanent ceasefire and arrangements for governing and security in Gaza after the war ends.

Egyptian sources familiar with the back-channel negotiations have said the PA has repeatedly told mediators it is the legitimate representative of the Palestinians and should be given the responsibility of running Gaza after the cessation of hostilities.

The PA also seeks to control funds set aside by donors for the enclave's reconstruction.

Hamas has ruled Gaza since its supporters expelled representatives of the PA and members of the mainstream Palestinian Fatah faction from the territory in a brief civil war in 2007, two years after Israel unilaterally pulled out of the enclave after 38 years.

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How to help

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The years Ramadan fell in May

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
England v South Africa schedule
  • First Test: Starts Thursday, Lord's, 2pm (UAE)
  • Second Test: July 14-18, Trent Bridge, Nottingham, 2pm
  • Third Test: The Oval, London, July 27-31, 2pm
  • Fourth Test: Old Trafford, Manchester, August 4-8
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GAC GS8 Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh149,900

Previous men's records
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  • 2:02:57: Dennis Kimetto (KEN) on 28/09/2014 in Berlin
  • 2:03:23: Wilson Kipsang (KEN) on 29/09/2013 in Berlin
  • 2:03:38: Patrick Makau (KEN) on 25/09/2011 in Berlin
  • 2:03:59: Haile Gebreselassie (ETH) on 28/09/2008 in Berlin
  • 2:04:26: Haile Gebreselassie (ETH) on 30/09/2007 in Berlin
  • 2:04:55: Paul Tergat (KEN) on 28/09/2003 in Berlin
  • 2:05:38: Khalid Khannouchi (USA) 14/04/2002 in London
  • 2:05:42: Khalid Khannouchi (USA) 24/10/1999 in Chicago
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The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting 

2. Prayer 

3. Hajj 

4. Shahada 

5. Zakat 

Buy farm-fresh food

The UAE is stepping up its game when it comes to platforms for local farms to show off and sell their produce.

In Dubai, visit Emirati Farmers Souq at The Pointe every Saturday from 8am to 2pm, which has produce from Al Ammar Farm, Omar Al Katri Farm, Hikarivege Vegetables, Rashed Farms and Al Khaleej Honey Trading, among others. 

In Sharjah, the Aljada residential community will launch a new outdoor farmers’ market every Friday starting this weekend. Manbat will be held from 3pm to 8pm, and will host 30 farmers, local home-grown entrepreneurs and food stalls from the teams behind Badia Farms; Emirates Hydroponics Farms; Modern Organic Farm; Revolution Real; Astraea Farms; and Al Khaleej Food. 

In Abu Dhabi, order farm produce from Food Crowd, an online grocery platform that supplies fresh and organic ingredients directly from farms such as Emirates Bio Farm, TFC, Armela Farms and mother company Al Dahra. 

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)
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Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion

The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.

Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".

The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.

He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.

"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.

As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.

War and the virus
Three ways to limit your social media use

Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.

1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.

2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information. 

3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.

U19 World Cup in South Africa

Group A: India, Japan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka

Group B: Australia, England, Nigeria, West Indies

Group C: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Scotland, Zimbabwe

Group D: Afghanistan, Canada, South Africa, UAE

UAE fixtures

Saturday, January 18, v Canada

Wednesday, January 22, v Afghanistan

Saturday, January 25, v South Africa

UAE squad

Aryan Lakra (captain), Vriitya Aravind, Deshan Chethyia, Mohammed Farazuddin, Jonathan Figy, Osama Hassan, Karthik Meiyappan, Rishabh Mukherjee, Ali Naseer, Wasi Shah, Alishan Sharafu, Sanchit Sharma, Kai Smith, Akasha Tahir, Ansh Tandon

The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

Updated: January 09, 2024, 6:38 AM`