Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Steve Witkoff, US president-elect Donald Trump's Middle East envoy, has been credited with helping to deliver the Gaza ceasefire and hostage-release agreement announced on Wednesday.
The New York-born billionaire, 67, injected energy and a stern business approach into the home stretch of negotiations, sources told The National on Thursday. Mr Witkoff's approach in the Qatari capital Doha helped break a year-long deadlock in an on-and-off process that had frustrated mediators from the US, Egypt and Qatar, the sources added.
The agreement announced on Wednesday provides for a 42-day truce, the initial release of 33 hostages held by Hamas, a partial Israeli troop withdrawal and the return home of displaced Palestinians. It also calls for a surge in the delivery of humanitarian aid into the devastated territory. Also envisioned are further talks during the initial truce, about a full Israeli withdrawal and a permanent ceasefire.
Mr Trump praised Mr Witkoff in a post on Truth Social platform on Wednesday.
"With this deal in place, my national security team, through the efforts of Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, will continue to work closely with Israel and our allies to make sure Gaza NEVER again becomes a safe haven for terrorists," he said.
The sources said the negotiations in Doha reached an unprecedented level of intensity in the 72 hours before the announcement of the deal by Qatar's chief negotiator, Prime Minister Mohammed bin Jassim Al Thani, at a news conference attended by Mr Witkoff.
In the lead up to the final three-day push in Doha, Mr Witkoff, the sources and Israeli media reports said, held tense talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in which the American envoy left the Israeli leader no choice but to quickly strike a deal.
"It was by far the toughest week of the negotiations and that was the case because of Mr Trump's envoy, whose aggressive approach and near obsession with reaching a deal electrified meeting rooms in Doha," said one of the sources.
Mr Netanyahu and his right-wing government partners are widely blamed for the failure of diplomatic efforts in the past year to reach a Gaza ceasefire, with Israeli media reports pointing to the Israeli leader's quest for political survival and determination to annihilate Hamas before ending the war as his main motivations.
It was in Doha this week that Mr Witkoff had to dig deep to produce an agreement to end a war that broke out 15 months ago, which has killed more than 46,700 Palestinians and threatened to plunge the entire Middle East into a wider conflict with archenemies Iran and Israel at its epicentre. The Gaza war was sparked by an attack on southern Israel by Hamas-led fighters, who killed about 1,200 people and took about 240 hostages.
Mr Witkoff, said the source, arrived in Doha with a large file containing a wealth of details of past rounds of negotiations and why so many attempts to end the war collapsed at the last minute.
"He addressed everyone by first name and diligently scribbled notes as he discussed the details of a possible deal with everyone. He paid attention, for example, to the problematic case of some Palestinian prisoners Hamas wanted to see free but Israel was reluctant to release," said the source.
"His eye for details, resolve and energy prompted the Hamas negotiators to adopt a more transparent approach in the indirect negotiations with him. In many ways, he was like a seasoned merchant; he gets good buys and knows how to sell."
The sources said the envoy's skills and patience were fully tested during the final hours of the negotiations when he and other mediators had to quickly overcome last-minute hurdles such as Hamas's demands for maps showing the positions of Israeli forces after they redeploy outside Gaza's urban centres as provided in the deal.
Hamas had also objected in the 11th hour to Israel's insistence that it will gradually, rather than partially, withdraw from Salah Al Din corridor, or the Philadelphi corridor, which runs the entire length of the Egypt-Gaza border on the Palestinian side.
The negotiations, according to the sources, took place in a luxury suburban Doha hotel in which the Qatari authorities booked and secured four stories while they allowed the rest of the hotel to operate normally.
Security operatives from Qatar and Egypt acted as round-the-clock messengers in some cases to circumvent the terrorist designation given to Hamas by the US and Israeli governments which prohibits direct dealings with the group's members, they said.
The security of the Hamas negotiators posed an additional problem to the process following a string of assassinations blamed on Israel, including the killing of political leader and chief negotiator Ismail Haniyeh in July in Tehran. Compounding that concern was the attacks in September on Hezbollah members in Lebanon through explosives planted in their pagers and walkie-talkies.
"The Egyptians and Qataris went to the Americans and told them they must ensure that Israel does not target Hamas's negotiators," said one source.
Gaza enjoyed a single respite from the war when a week-long truce went into force in November 2023. The US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators had since come close on several occasions to clinching a deal only for their efforts to falter over the intransigence of Hamas and Israel.
But the process was significantly re-energised when Mr Trump won the US presidential election in November and later threatened that there will be "hell to pay" if the hostages were not released before his January 20 inauguration.
The Gaza war also reduced to rubble much of the heavily built up Gaza and displaced the majority of its 2.3 million residents.
MATCH INFO
Osasuna 1 Real Madrid 4
Osasuna: García (14')
Real Madrid: Isco (33'), Ramos (38'), Vázquez (84'), Jovic (90' 2)
THE BIO
Favourite place to go to in the UAE: The desert sand dunes, just after some rain
Who inspires you: Anybody with new and smart ideas, challenging questions, an open mind and a positive attitude
Where would you like to retire: Most probably in my home country, Hungary, but with frequent returns to the UAE
Favorite book: A book by Transilvanian author, Albert Wass, entitled ‘Sword and Reap’ (Kard es Kasza) - not really known internationally
Favourite subjects in school: Mathematics and science
MATCH INFO
Real Madrid 2
Vinicius Junior (71') Mariano (90 2')
Barcelona 0
RESULT
Arsenal 2
Sokratis Papastathopoulos 45 4'
Eddie Ntkeiah 51'
Portsmouth 0
Race card
4pm Al Bastakiya Listed US$300,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
4.35pm Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 $350,000 (D) 1,200m
5.10pm Nad Al Sheba Turf Group 3 $350,000 (Turf) 1,200m
5.45pm Burj Nahaar Group 3 $350,000 (D) 1,600m
6.20pm Jebel Hatta Group 1 $400,000 (T) 1,800m
6.55pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 Group 1 $600,000 (D) 2,000m
7.30pm Dubai City Of Gold Group 2 $350,000 (T) 2,410m
The National selections:
4pm Zabardast
4.35pm Ibn Malik
5.10pm Space Blues
5.45pm Kimbear
6.20pm Barney Roy
6.55pm Matterhorn
7.30pm Defoe
Emergency phone numbers in the UAE
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
Where to apply
Applicants should send their completed applications - CV, covering letter, sample(s) of your work, letter of recommendation - to Nick March, Assistant Editor in Chief at The National and UAE programme administrator for the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism, by 5pm on April 30, 2020.
Please send applications to nmarch@thenational.ae and please mark the subject line as “Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism (UAE programme application)”.
The local advisory board will consider all applications and will interview a short list of candidates in Abu Dhabi in June 2020. Successful candidates will be informed before July 30, 2020.
MORE ON TURKEY'S SYRIA OFFENCE
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
Company%20profile
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SERIES SCHEDULE
First Test, Galle International Stadium
July 26-30
Second Test, Sinhalese Sports Club Ground
August 3-7
Third Test, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
August 12-16
First ODI, Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium
August 20
Second ODI, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
August 24
Third ODI, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
August 27
Fourth ODI, R Premadasa Stadium
August 31
Fifth ODI, R Premadasa Stadium
September 3
T20, R Premadasa Stadium
September 6
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key developments in maritime dispute
2000: Israel withdraws from Lebanon after nearly 30 years without an officially demarcated border. The UN establishes the Blue Line to act as the frontier.
2007: Lebanon and Cyprus define their respective exclusive economic zones to facilitate oil and gas exploration. Israel uses this to define its EEZ with Cyprus
2011: Lebanon disputes Israeli-proposed line and submits documents to UN showing different EEZ. Cyprus offers to mediate without much progress.
2018: Lebanon signs first offshore oil and gas licencing deal with consortium of France’s Total, Italy’s Eni and Russia’s Novatek.
2018-2019: US seeks to mediate between Israel and Lebanon to prevent clashes over oil and gas resources.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Cultural fiesta
What: The Al Burda Festival
When: November 14 (from 10am)
Where: Warehouse421, Abu Dhabi
The Al Burda Festival is a celebration of Islamic art and culture, featuring talks, performances and exhibitions. Organised by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, this one-day event opens with a session on the future of Islamic art. With this in mind, it is followed by a number of workshops and “masterclass” sessions in everything from calligraphy and typography to geometry and the origins of Islamic design. There will also be discussions on subjects including ‘Who is the Audience for Islamic Art?’ and ‘New Markets for Islamic Design.’ A live performance from Kuwaiti guitarist Yousif Yaseen should be one of the highlights of the day.
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Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
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