Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Gaza ceasefire talks resumed on Sunday with US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators presenting Israel and Hamas a blueprint for a brief but extendable truce and a hostage and prisoners swap, sources told The National.
The talks in Doha are the first since negotiations ended in August, with both sides accusing each other of acting in bad faith. They are also the first since Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed in Gaza this month, a development the US has said was helpful to efforts to reach a pause in the war in Gaza.
The sources said the latest proposals on the table provide for an initial truce of up to 10 days during which humanitarian aid will flow into Gaza and a limited exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners in Israel would take place. They also provide for indirect Israeli-Hamas negotiations to occur as soon as the initial truce comes into effect.
The sources also told The National that extending the truce depends on both sides respecting its terms, a smooth swap of hostages for Palestinian detainees and an agreement to continue negotiating. The Israeli and other hostages held by Hamas would be released in batches of five, with priority likely to be given to US and dual US-Israeli citizens.
The proposals make no mention of a permanent ceasefire, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza or the return of Palestinians displaced from their homes since the war began in October last year – long-standing Hamas conditions.
Israel is, in return for the freedom of the hostages, offering to hand over Mr Sinwar’s body for burial in Gaza and safe passage for Hamas officials in the enclave along with a pledge it would not hunt them down in exile. Israel also wants Hamas fighters to surrender their weapons.
It is understood Hamas is unlikely to agree to any of these Israeli conditions.
“It’s not Hamas though that will cause the latest round of negotiations to fail,” said one of the sources. “Israel does not necessarily want the war to end,” they added, claiming that Israel's military was planning to push out most of the residents of northern Gaza and establish a buffer zone there.
Israel, they said, also had no intention of pulling out its forces from a narrow strip of land that runs the entire length of the Egypt-Gaza border on the Palestinian side, which includes the Rafah land crossing between Egypt and Gaza. Israel captured the Salah Al Din corridor in May. Egypt maintains that Israel’s action breached its 1979 peace treaty with Israel and subsequent accords.
Hamas is believed to be holding about 100 hostages, of whom as many as 40 are thought to have died in captivity, according to the Israeli military. The hostages were among about 250 abducted by Hamas fighters when they attacked southern Israeli communities on October 7 last year, killing 1,200 and igniting the war in Gaza. More than 100 of the hostages were released during a week-long truce in November.
More than 42,800 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war began. More than twice that number have been injured and most of the territory’s 2.3 million residents have been displaced, often multiple times.
The latest proposals were finalised during a meeting on Sunday in Cairo between top Egyptian intelligence officials and a delegation from Mossad and Shin Bet.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who toured the Middle East last week, has not spoken publicly about the reported plans. However, he said in Israel last week that US proposals for a Gaza ceasefire announced in May remained on the table but that Washington was open to other ideas.
Mr Blinken’s Middle East tour – his 11th since the Gaza war began a year ago – is perhaps the last push by the Joe Biden administration to end the war on the enclave and Lebanon before the US presidential election on November 5.
The focus of Mr Blinken’s discussions in the region last week was what is known as the “day after,” or the political and security arrangements for postwar Gaza, as well as the reconstruction of the enclave.
One scenario discussed by Mr Blinken was finding a successor for the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and forming a government of technocrats to run both the occupied West Bank and Gaza.
Within that scenario, former Palestinian foreign affairs minister Nasser Al Qudwa is the top candidate for the president’s job while former prime minister Salam Fayyad is tipped to return to the job he lost in 2013.
The formation of a technocratic government to run the Palestinian territories until presidential and legislative elections are held was occasionally floated as part of discussions on postwar Gaza, but failure to reach a ceasefire and a hostages-for-prisoner swap has pushed it down the priority list of the mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the US.
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Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia
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HIV on the rise in the region
A 2019 United Nations special analysis on Aids reveals 37 per cent of new HIV infections in the Mena region are from people injecting drugs.
New HIV infections have also risen by 29 per cent in western Europe and Asia, and by 7 per cent in Latin America, but declined elsewhere.
Egypt has shown the highest increase in recorded cases of HIV since 2010, up by 196 per cent.
Access to HIV testing, treatment and care in the region is well below the global average.
Few statistics have been published on the number of cases in the UAE, although a UNAIDS report said 1.5 per cent of the prison population has the virus.
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The specs
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Transmission: 6-speed auto
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Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma
When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
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Company profile
Name: Thndr
Started: October 2020
Founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
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