A UN conference co-hosted by France and Saudi Arabia aimed at advancing a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians has been postponed following Israel’s military strike on Iran.
The high-level meeting scheduled for next week was intended to lay out a road map for Middle East peace, but has been delayed due to escalating regional tensions, a UN diplomatic source told The National on Friday.
French President Emmanuel Macron later confirmed that the summit would be moved to another venue and date after the strikes forced its postponement.
“This postponement cannot call into question our determination to move forward with the implementation of the two-state solution whatever the circumstances,” Mr Macron said from Paris. “I have stated my determination to recognise the state of Palestine is absolute – it is a sovereign decision.”
The French leader added that Israel has the right to self-defence, but said “it is through negotiation that this situation is to be resolved”.
Mr Macron said that "both the [Saudi] Crown Prince [Mohammed bin Salman] and the President of the Palestinian Authority [Mahmoud Abbas] told me that they were not in a logistical, physical, security or political position to go to New York - so it is just pragmatic reasons".
Speaking to The National on the sidelines of an Arab Group meeting at the UN, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador, Dr Abdulaziz Alwasil, said that Riyadh and Paris are “considering options” for the future of the conference.
The strike on Iran marks a sharp escalation in hostilities, further complicating international efforts to mediate a resolution to the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israel launched a large-scale attack on Iran on Friday morning, killing top military officials and targeting key nuclear sites.
The Israeli army said more than 100 drones had been launched from Iran.
“We struck at the heart of Iran's nuclear enrichment programme. We struck at the heart of Iran's nuclear weaponisation programme. We targeted Iran's main enrichment facility in Natanz,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an address.
“We targeted Iran's leading nuclear scientists working on the Iranian bomb. We also struck in the heart of Iran's ballistic missile programme.”
Israel's UN ambassador Danny Danon called the strike “a calculated and necessary action based on clear intelligence and carried out in response to an escalating existential threat”.
“We acted to protect our citizens. We acted to prevent a threat that would endanger not only Israel but the entire world,” he added. “We will not sit quietly while our people are targeted, not again, not ever.”
Israel has repeatedly denounced the conference, saying it rewards Hamas for the October 7 attack that started the Gaza war.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Results:
6.30pm: Maiden Dh 165,000 1,400m.
Winner: Walking Thunder, Connor Beasley (jockey), Ahmad bin Harmash (trainer).
7.05pm: Handicap (rated 72-87) Dh 165,000 1,600m.
Winner: Syncopation, George Buckell, Doug Watson.
7.40pm: Maiden Dh 165,000 1,400m.
Winner: Big Brown Bear, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
8.15pm: Handicap (75-95) Dh 190,000 1,200m.
Winner: Stunned, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
8.50pm: Handicap (85-105) Dh 210,000 2,000m.
Winner: New Trails, Connor Beasley, Ahmad bin Harmash.
9.25pm: Handicap (75-95) Dh 190,000 1,600m.
Winner: Pillar Of Society, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
Company%20Profile
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
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Abdul Jabar Qahraman was meeting supporters in his campaign office in the southern Afghan province of Helmand when a bomb hidden under a sofa exploded on Wednesday.
The blast in the provincial capital Lashkar Gah killed the Afghan election candidate and at least another three people, Interior Minister Wais Ahmad Barmak told reporters. Another three were wounded, while three suspects were detained, he said.
The Taliban – which controls much of Helmand and has vowed to disrupt the October 20 parliamentary elections – claimed responsibility for the attack.
Mr Qahraman was at least the 10th candidate killed so far during the campaign season, and the second from Lashkar Gah this month. Another candidate, Saleh Mohammad Asikzai, was among eight people killed in a suicide attack last week. Most of the slain candidates were murdered in targeted assassinations, including Avtar Singh Khalsa, the first Afghan Sikh to run for the lower house of the parliament.
The same week the Taliban warned candidates to withdraw from the elections. On Wednesday the group issued fresh warnings, calling on educational workers to stop schools from being used as polling centres.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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China
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Norway
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Canada
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Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
