Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Palestinians in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip welcomed the reconstruction plan devised at the Arab summit in Cairo on Tuesday with cautious optimism, but feared it could face obstacles without US support.
Arab leaders meeting in Egypt endorsed the plan for Gaza that envisions technocratic control of the war-battered territory without Hamas members and a $53 billion reconstruction plan, according to a resolution adopted at the one-day summit.
Egypt's plan estimates rebuilding will take three to five years and, contrary to US President Donald Trump's vision, Gaza's 2.3 million Palestinians will stay in the coastal enclave while the work is under way, instead of being forced to resettle in Egypt and Jordan.
“Unless the US approves it, the implementation will be extremely difficult,” Mohammed Al Lala, a resident of Gaza city, said, adding that he believed the decision “ultimately lies in Washington's hands”.
“At this point, there is little we can do,” Mr Al Lala said but was hopeful that Mr Trump's economic ties with Arab states will persuade him to accept the terms of the plan.
Arab plan for Gaza
The plan supports a two-state solution and calls for the establishment of a transitional governance committee that will gradually hand over control to the Palestinian Authority. “There must be a commitment to transparency, accountability, and the eradication of corruption within governmental structures,” Mr Sabbah, 55, said.
Hamas welcomed the plan and called for the provision of the necessary tools to ensure the plan's success, saying the meeting was a “step forward” in Arab and Islamic support for the Palestinian cause. It proposed the formation of a temporary committee “to oversee relief efforts, reconstruction and governance”. However, the US dismissed the plan, saying it ignored the realities on the ground.
The US has said the plan presented by Arab states for rebuilding Gaza fails to address the reality that the enclave is “uninhabitable” and that residents “cannot humanely live in a territory covered in debris and unexploded ordnance”.
Israel rejected the plan on Tuesday, with its foreign ministry saying it supported the earlier plan put forward by Mr Trump and accused Arab states of shunning the proposal without giving it a chance. Israel also criticised what it said was Arab leaders' reliance for postwar administration on the PA.
“They are not even willing to engage with the Palestinian Authority, which reveals their broader strategy of exclusion,” Firas Bassam, a Gazan currently residing in the US said of Israel's rejection. “Israel has dismissed the plan entirely,” he added.
Mr Al Lala also expressed concern that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reluctance to support such a plan would obstruct the implementation of the resolution, rendering yet another symbolic pledge to help reconstruct Gaza.
“These changes cannot happen overnight, but they must be implemented within one to two years at most,” Mr Sabbah noted. The plan divides the reconstruction process into two phases – the first that will take two years and a second phase more than two and a half years – while the political transition committee will be in place for six to 12 months.
The plan also has political and security sections outlining how Gaza will be governed after the war. The political part envisages a committee of 20 independent technocrats to run the territory for six months, meaning Hamas will have to relinquish its authority, according to sources. They said Palestinian factions have approved the nominated technocrats, despite them not being affiliated with any group.
Hamas expressed support for the summit’s stance on building Palestinian national institutions, affirming the importance of elections. “Hamas’s reaction was well-calculated. They emphasised the necessity of elections only after establishing a Palestinian state, which is a pragmatic stance,” Mr Firas said.
For Fatih Sabbah, a journalist and human rights advocate from Gaza city, the decisions "are commendable." Still, there is a "lingering fear that they will suffer the same fate as many previous Arab summit resolutions”, he added, calling for “a clear timeline and concrete mechanisms for execution".
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
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Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
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Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Astra%20Tech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbdallah%20Abu%20Sheikh%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20technology%20investment%20and%20development%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20size%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24500m%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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Florida: The critical Sunshine State
Though mostly conservative, Florida is usually always “close” in presidential elections. In most elections, the candidate that wins the Sunshine State almost always wins the election, as evidenced in 2016 when Trump took Florida, a state which has not had a democratic governor since 1991.
Joe Biden’s campaign has spent $100 million there to turn things around, understandable given the state’s crucial 29 electoral votes.
In 2016, Mr Trump’s democratic rival Hillary Clinton paid frequent visits to Florida though analysts concluded that she failed to appeal towards middle-class voters, whom Barack Obama won over in the previous election.
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Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
The biog
Favourite books: 'Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life' by Jane D. Mathews and ‘The Moment of Lift’ by Melinda Gates
Favourite travel destination: Greece, a blend of ancient history and captivating nature. It always has given me a sense of joy, endless possibilities, positive energy and wonderful people that make you feel at home.
Favourite pastime: travelling and experiencing different cultures across the globe.
Favourite quote: “In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders” - Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook.
Favourite Movie: Mona Lisa Smile
Favourite Author: Kahlil Gibran
Favourite Artist: Meryl Streep
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
UAE SQUAD
Omar Abdulrahman (Al Hilal), Ali Khaseif, Ali Mabkhout, Salem Rashed, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Zayed Al Ameri, Mohammed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Khalid Essa, Ahmed Barman, Ryan Yaslam, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Habib Fardan, Tariq Ahmed, Mohammed Al Akbari (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmin (Al Wasl), Adel Al Hosani, Ali Hassan Saleh, Majed Suroor (Sharjah), Ahmed Khalil, Walid Abbas, Majed Hassan, Ismail Al Hammadi (Shabab Al Ahli), Hassan Al Muharrami, Fahad Al Dhahani (Bani Yas), Mohammed Al Shaker (Ajman)
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
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Day 5, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day When Dilruwan Perera dismissed Yasir Shah to end Pakistan’s limp resistance, the Sri Lankans charged around the field with the fevered delirium of a side not used to winning. Trouble was, they had not. The delivery was deemed a no ball. Sri Lanka had a nervy wait, but it was merely a stay of execution for the beleaguered hosts.
Stat of the day – 5 Pakistan have lost all 10 wickets on the fifth day of a Test five times since the start of 2016. It is an alarming departure for a side who had apparently erased regular collapses from their resume. “The only thing I can say, it’s not a mitigating excuse at all, but that’s a young batting line up, obviously trying to find their way,” said Mickey Arthur, Pakistan’s coach.
The verdict Test matches in the UAE are known for speeding up on the last two days, but this was extreme. The first two innings of this Test took 11 sessions to complete. The remaining two were done in less than four. The nature of Pakistan’s capitulation at the end showed just how difficult the transition is going to be in the post Misbah-ul-Haq era.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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All you need to know about Formula E in Saudi Arabia
What The Saudia Ad Diriyah E-Prix
When Saturday
Where Diriyah in Saudi Arabia
What time Qualifying takes place from 11.50am UAE time through until the Super Pole session, which is due to end at 12.55pm. The race, which will last for 45 minutes, starts at 4.05pm.
Who is competing There are 22 drivers, from 11 teams, on the grid, with each vehicle run solely on electronic power.
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The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
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Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
