What could have begun as a move to strong-arm Hamas could end with the mass expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza as Israel moves ahead to occupy Gaza city, former Israeli intelligence, security and political officials have told The National.
“It could be a tactic of pressuring Hamas, but it could also be the real Netanyahu-Ben Gvir-Smotrich plan of emptying Gaza and settling Israelis in their place,” said former hostage negotiator Gershon Baskin.
Israel on Wednesday intensified attacks on Gaza city, where at least 1 million – or half of Gaza's population, live. The army began by issuing “evacuation orders”, forcibly removing people from their homes and makeshift tents in the enclave, where at least nine out of 10 people have already been displaced.
The Israeli cabinet had approved plans to take over Gaza city, effectively reoccupying all of Gaza 20 years after it had pulled out and dismantled settlements.
At the same time, Israel gave final approval to a project to expand settlements in the occupied West Bank, billed as dashing hopes of Palestinian statehood. The project is also seen as a pressure tactic against western countries moving towards recognising Palestine.
A planning committee signed off on Wednesday on the construction of 3,400 homes in a wedge of land east of Jerusalem known as E1. This will effectively bisect the West Bank by connecting the area to the large nearby settlement of Ma’ale Adumim.
Pressure cooker
Regardless of whether the Gaza city plan started with the intention to frighten Hamas, the results are real and will bring about Palestinians' removal from the strip by moving them to the south-west of Gaza, he said.
The area in the south is already so overcrowded that 40,000 people live in every square kilometre, according to UN figures.
“Israel wants to … create a pressure cooker there and wait for it to explode; and for people to cross the border to Sinai and do the ethnic cleansing of Gaza,” Mr Baskin added.
Israel's advancement towards Gaza city, and the intensification of attacks and killings, comes while a US-brokered deal mediated by Egypt and Qatar is pending Israeli approval after it was greenlit by Hamas.
The group had made concessions on the initial version of the agreement, including relinquishing a demand for written US guarantees that the deal would lead to a permanent ceasefire and Hamas's approval for the posting of a force in Gaza under UN supervision to maintain security.
Collateral damage
Hamas had basically agreed to a version of the deal very similar to one that Israel had already approved. Yet, delays in Israel's response remain.
“Benjamin Netanyahu is not interested in a deal … because he is fully committed to an overarching strategy of annihilation of the two-state solution, first in Gaza then the West Bank,” Eran Etzion, former head of Israel's National Security Council at the Prime Minister's office, told The National.
Mr Etzion believes the Israeli Prime Minister is guided by his personal and political gains through the continuing aggression on Gaza, with no regard paid to the Palestinian death toll, which has passed 62,000, nor the fate of the remaining hostages in Hamas's grip.
“His real view of the hostages is as 'collateral damage', and he sees their political release as a political threat,” Mr Etzion added.
With Mr Netanyahu resistant to rising internal pressure, from the streets, to the hostage families and members of government, the only means to stop him from moving forward will not come from within Israel, the former head of Israel's Security Agency, Ami Ayalon, said.
“The idea to conquer Gaza came as a means of pressure, but now, without external intervention, it seems to me it's becoming a horrible reality. America can stop it, and they have the power to do it.”
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
Sri Lanka v England
First Test, at Galle
England won by 211
Second Test, at Kandy
England won by 57 runs
Third Test, at Colombo
From Nov 23-27
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
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The five pillars of Islam
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
How to register as a donor
1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention
2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants
3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register.
4) The campaign uses the hashtag #donate_hope
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
