Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
A prominent Israeli politician has denounced Benjamin Netanyahu's insistence on keeping troops in Gaza's border strip with Egypt, calling the move "a scam" and saying the Israeli Prime Minister is using the issue to sacrifice Israeli and Palestinian civilians for political reasons.
"Philadelphi is a scam. It's fake. Netanyahu never mentioned it before," Hadash member Ofer Cassif told The National, using the Israeli name for the Salah Al Din corridor. "It's lies upon lies – all for political survival."
Mr Cassif has been one of the most vocal Israeli critics of the war and Israel's occupation of Palestine. He almost lost his parliamentary seat as a result, surviving a February vote against him after he signed a petition supporting South Africa's genocide case at the International Court of Justice.
"I said it months ago – had the government loved the Israelis more than they hated the Palestinians, the hostages would have been home ages ago," he said. "Unfortunately, that is not the case. The government doesn't care about the well-being or life of anyone. Netanyahu, time and time again, has foiled any possibility of a deal to release the hostages on purpose."
Crowds descended once again on Tel Aviv and Jerusalem on Thursday, carrying mock coffins to represent the six hostages found dead in a Rafah tunnel on Saturday. Three of them were reportedly on a list of hostages to be released in a July ceasefire deal.
"If Netanyahu continues as planned, more hostages will be killed," Gil Dickman, whose cousin Carmel Gat was killed in Gaza, told crowds in Tel Aviv. Roni Adar, whose cousin's body is being held in the enclave, said: "Bibi [Mr Netanyahu] – there's only one way to save the hostages, and that's to sign a deal."
Mr Netanyahu gave two press conferences this week to defend his stance on keeping troops in the Salah Al Din corridor, which he claims is vital to Hamas weapons supplies. The area could also be used to transfer hostages to Iran and Yemen through Egypt.
While the White House has said a ceasefire deal must include an Israeli withdrawal from the corridor, US officials say Hamas remains the "main obstacle" to a ceasefire in Gaza, where almost 41,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began in October last year. But Hamas has said it is committed to the principles of the ceasefire proposal.
Regardless of the strategic advantages of the border strip, many Israelis, particularly hostage families, have called on Mr Netanyahu to withdraw from the corridor to make a deal happen – with the mother of hostage Almog Sarusi saying he was "sacrificed for Philadelphi and Rafah".
While Mr Netanyahu insists the corridor is necessary to prevent Hamas from rearming and repeating the October 7 attack on Israel, critics maintain that he is prolonging the war to protest his political career. He faced corruption charges and massive protests against planned judicial reforms before the war began.
Netanyahu 'doesn't care'
Speaking to the press on Monday, the grandson of elderly hostage Oded Lifshitz said he hoped Mr Netanyahu would withdraw troops from the corridor and sign a ceasefire deal soon.
"Stop losing the time for our hostages," Daniel Lifshitz said, hours before a general strike was announced by Israel's largest trade union to push for a deal. "We will do everything to make pressure inside Israel, that Israel will do everything to take the deal. I hope they will change the decision about the Philadelphi corridor."
Mr Cassif, who met this week with the parents of hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, among the six recovered from Gaza, said: "[Mr Netanyahu] doesn't care about the lives of the hostages, he doesn't care about the lives of the soldiers, he doesn't care about the thousands and thousands of people who have been evacuated from their homes in the north of Israel.
"The government has destroyed Gaza to ashes and sacrificed the lives of hostages and soldiers on the altar of their own political survival.
"Hersh and the others – all of them, and many before – could have been home months ago, but the government didn’t do anything. They have foiled any chance to release them on purpose. I’ve brought this up in the Knesset plenum before, but I didn’t have enough time – only three to five minutes – to bring up all the incidences where he has foiled a deal."
Mr Cassif accused Mr Netanyahu of using Israeli soldiers as "cannon fodder" and said more international pressure needed to be put on the Israeli cabinet to secure a deal.
"None of these things could have happened without the active support of the US and other European countries. Biden and his cabinet have been criticising Netanyahu over the deal, but they keep arming Israel and veto [UN] Security Council decisions to keep the war," he said.
"The US bears a lot of responsibility for the continuing massacre, and the fate of the hostages. They're not supporting Israel, they're supporting the government of Israel. You have to distinguish the two."
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BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
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Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
Schedule
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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The six points:
1. Ministers should be in the field, instead of always at conferences
2. Foreign diplomacy must be left to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation
3. Emiratisation is a top priority that will have a renewed push behind it
4. The UAE's economy must continue to thrive and grow
5. Complaints from the public must be addressed, not avoided
6. Have hope for the future, what is yet to come is bigger and better than before
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
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- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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Marathon results
Men:
1. Titus Ekiru(KEN) 2:06:13
2. Alphonce Simbu(TAN) 2:07:50
3. Reuben Kipyego(KEN) 2:08:25
4. Abel Kirui(KEN) 2:08:46
5. Felix Kemutai(KEN) 2:10:48
Women:
1. Judith Korir(KEN) 2:22:30
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3. Immaculate Chemutai(UGA) 2:28:30
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5. Aleksandra Morozova(RUS) 2:33:01
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Director: Jon Watts
Stars: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon
Rating:*****
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
How to play the stock market recovery in 2021?
If you are looking to build your long-term wealth in 2021 and beyond, the stock market is still the best place to do it as equities powered on despite the pandemic.
Investing in individual stocks is not for everyone and most private investors should stick to mutual funds and ETFs, but there are some thrilling opportunities for those who understand the risks.
Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, says the 20 best-performing US and European stocks have delivered an average return year-to-date of 148 per cent, measured in local currency terms.
Online marketplace Etsy was the best performer with a return of 330.6 per cent, followed by communications software company Sinch (315.4 per cent), online supermarket HelloFresh (232.8 per cent) and fuel cells specialist NEL (191.7 per cent).
Mr Garnry says digital companies benefited from the lockdown, while green energy firms flew as efforts to combat climate change were ramped up, helped in part by the European Union’s green deal.
Electric car company Tesla would be on the list if it had been part of the S&P 500 Index, but it only joined on December 21. “Tesla has become one of the most valuable companies in the world this year as demand for electric vehicles has grown dramatically,” Mr Garnry says.
By contrast, the 20 worst-performing European stocks fell 54 per cent on average, with European banks hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic, while cruise liners and airline stocks suffered due to travel restrictions.
As demand for energy fell, the oil and gas industry had a tough year, too.
Mr Garnry says the biggest story this year was the “absolute crunch” in so-called value stocks, companies that trade at low valuations compared to their earnings and growth potential.
He says they are “heavily tilted towards financials, miners, energy, utilities and industrials, which have all been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic”. “The last year saw these cheap stocks become cheaper and expensive stocks have become more expensive.”
This has triggered excited talk about the “great value rotation” but Mr Garnry remains sceptical. “We need to see a breakout of interest rates combined with higher inflation before we join the crowd.”
Always remember that past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Last year’s winners often turn out to be this year’s losers, and vice-versa.
What went into the film
25 visual effects (VFX) studios
2,150 VFX shots in a film with 2,500 shots
1,000 VFX artists
3,000 technicians
10 Concept artists, 25 3D designers
New sound technology, named 4D SRL
MATCH INFO
Barcelona 5 (Lenglet 2', Vidal 29', Messi 34', 75', Suarez 77')
Valladolid 1 (Kiko 15')
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
Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
Ain Issa camp:
- Established in 2016
- Houses 13,309 people, 2,092 families, 62 per cent children
- Of the adult population, 49 per cent men, 51 per cent women (not including foreigners annexe)
- Most from Deir Ezzor and Raqqa
- 950 foreigners linked to ISIS and their families
- NGO Blumont runs camp management for the UN
- One of the nine official (UN recognised) camps in the region
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
