Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza
Israeli politicians across the spectrum have criticised on Monday the release of the director of Gaza’s Al Shifa Hospital, in which some Israeli hostages were reportedly held after the October 7 attacks.
Mohammad Abu Salmiya, who was arrested by the Israeli military in November, was released along with 55 other Palestinian detainees, according to Palestinian media. After his release, he told media in Gaza that he was tortured and deprived of food while in Israeli prisons.
The move was described as a risk to national security, an insult to hostages and their families and a sign that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is abandoning the captives, an accusation that has become a rallying call for the opposition and civil society in recent months.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid said the decision was a “direct continuation of the recklessness and dysfunction of [Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s] government”.
Benny Gantz, who last month left a senior position in a unity government formed by Mr Netanyahu after the war broke out, said the decision was a “moral and ethical error” and called for national elections.
The release of Mr Abu Salamiya also created chaos within the government, as ministers tried to distance themselves from the move, including the prime minister, whose office said “the decision to release the prisoners followed discussions at the High Court”.
The office of Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said: “The procedure for incarcerating security prisoners and their release is under [internal security agency] the Shin Bet and the Israel Prison Service, and is not subject to the approval of the defence minister.”
Israel’s Kan news channel published leaked WhatsApp messages in which far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for the dismissal of the chief of the Shin Bet, Ronen Bar.
Interior Minister Moshe Arbel hit back, asking whether Mr Ben-Gvir would take any “responsibility in this matter”.
The Shin Bet accused Mr Ben-Gvir of significant responsibility in the scandal, saying he failed to respond to repeated calls by the agency to address a major shortage of prison cells that has been exacerbated by mass detentions in the Gaza War.
“The ISA was opposed to the release of Palestinian detainees from [the Occupied West Bank], who pose immediate danger, and of Hamas Nukhba terrorists who were involved in the fighting and harm to Israeli civilians,” it said.
“Therefore, due to the national need, as set by the National Security Council, a decision was made to release several detainees from Gaza, who pose less severe danger, after a wide risk assessment among all detainees,” it added.
“With no other choice, and without an immediate solution to the shortage in detention spaces, arrests will keep getting cancelled and detainees will keep getting released.”
Israel’s military launched assaults on Al Shifa on a number of occasions throughout the war, saying that it was a centre of Hamas operations.
The targeting of Al Shifa, which now lies in ruins, has led to accusations against Israel of war crimes. Operations there dealt a major blow to Gaza’s health system that has largely collapsed amid massive pressure put on it by the war, which has so far killed about 3,800 and injured more than 87,000 Gazans.
Israel and the US have said on a number of occasions that Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups used the hospital as a base and that Israeli hostages were at points held there.
Hamas has denied the accusations.
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
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Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
New schools in Dubai
Christopher Robin
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Haley Atwell, Jim Cummings, Peter Capaldi
Three stars
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
AGL AWARDS
Golden Ball - best Emirati player: Khalfan Mubarak (Al Jazira)
Golden Ball - best foreign player: Igor Coronado (Sharjah)
Golden Glove - best goalkeeper: Adel Al Hosani (Sharjah)
Best Coach - the leader: Abdulaziz Al Anbari (Sharjah)
Fans' Player of the Year: Driss Fetouhi (Dibba)
Golden Boy - best young player: Ali Saleh (Al Wasl)
Best Fans of the Year: Sharjah
Goal of the Year: Michael Ortega (Baniyas)
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Pots for the Asian Qualifiers
Pot 1: Iran, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, China
Pot 2: Iraq, Uzbekistan, Syria, Oman, Lebanon, Kyrgyz Republic, Vietnam, Jordan
Pot 3: Palestine, India, Bahrain, Thailand, Tajikistan, North Korea, Chinese Taipei, Philippines
Pot 4: Turkmenistan, Myanmar, Hong Kong, Yemen, Afghanistan, Maldives, Kuwait, Malaysia
Pot 5: Indonesia, Singapore, Nepal, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Guam, Macau/Sri Lanka
Gender pay parity on track in the UAE
The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.
"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."
Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.
"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.
As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general.
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
PROFILE OF CURE.FIT
Started: July 2016
Founders: Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori
Based: Bangalore, India
Sector: Health & wellness
Size: 500 employees
Investment: $250 million
Investors: Accel, Oaktree Capital (US); Chiratae Ventures, Epiq Capital, Innoven Capital, Kalaari Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Piramal Group’s Anand Piramal, Pratithi Investment Trust, Ratan Tata (India); and Unilever Ventures (Unilever’s global venture capital arm)
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PSA DUBAI WORLD SERIES FINALS LINE-UP
Men’s:
Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY)
Ali Farag (EGY)
Simon Rosner (GER)
Tarek Momen (EGY)
Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)
Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)
Nick Matthew (ENG)
Women's:
Nour El Sherbini (EGY)
Raneem El Welily (EGY)
Nour El Tayeb (EGY)
Laura Massaro (ENG)
Joelle King (NZE)
Camille Serme (FRA)
Nouran Gohar (EGY)
Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG)
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
Saudi Cup race day
Schedule in UAE time
5pm: Mohamed Yousuf Naghi Motors Cup (Turf), 5.35pm: 1351 Cup (T), 6.10pm: Longines Turf Handicap (T), 6.45pm: Obaiya Arabian Classic for Purebred Arabians (Dirt), 7.30pm: Jockey Club Handicap (D), 8.10pm: Samba Saudi Derby (D), 8.50pm: Saudia Sprint (D), 9.40pm: Saudi Cup (D)
PROFILE OF INVYGO
Started: 2018
Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo
Based: Dubai
Sector: Transport
Size: 9 employees
Investment: $1,275,000
Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri
