There have been far too many casualties in the Israel-Gaza war thus far, among them the truth, as The National’s Nick March noted earlier this month. Another is the “international rules-based order”, which the US National Security Strategy, published last year, stated “must remain the foundation for global peace and prosperity”.
The need to uphold this supposed “rules-based order” almost defines the Biden administration’s foreign policy, and the words I quote appear just a paragraph above Joe Biden’s signature in the strategy. But it is the US President who is most responsible for the concept’s demise.
For after standing by Israel after it commits war crime after war crime – it’s time to call it straight and without qualification by now – while a White House spokeswoman actually said calls for a ceasefire were “repugnant and disgraceful”, the US government has made it abundantly clear that rules are for other people. America and its allies have total impunity.
The Israeli bombing of the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza is just the latest. Condemned as “a clear-cut war crime”, by Jeremy Konyndyk, president of Refugees International and a former official in Mr Biden’s administration, he posted on X that it “shows wanton disregard for the legal obligation to minimise civilian harm in targeting military objectives. It is the latest of many such attacks by the Israeli miliatry”.
I agree with Mr Biden when he said the October 7 attack was “an act of sheer evil”. I understand why he would say: “And let there be no doubt: the United States has Israel’s back.” But a true friend is not an uncritical friend. A true friend might have expressed public concern when a member of the Knesset who belongs to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party called for a second Nakba, “a Nakba that will overshadow the Nakba of '48”.
Someone in the White House might have stated that they disagreed when Israeli President Isaac Herzog said that “it is an entire nation out there that is responsible” for Hamas’s atrocities, or when an Israeli news site lists the more than 8,000 Palestinians who have died as “terrorists we eliminated” – which includes more than 3,500 children. Perhaps, it might have been worth speaking up after former Israeli minister Danny Ayalon said the plan was for the entire population to be moved out of Gaza and into the Sinai desert. “This is thought out,” he told a TV interviewer.
The US is viewed, rightly or wrongly, as the one country that could have demanded that, while Israel had every right to self-defence, it must comply with international law
Yes, we have heard some words of restraint from US officials. But they have come too late, and are undermined by other statements, such as Mr Biden’s answer at a news conference a week ago: “I have no notion that the Palestinians are telling the truth about how many people are killed. I’m sure innocents have been killed, and it’s the price of waging a war.”
The International Committee of the Red Cross differs. “Gaza. The human suffering is shocking. Thousands killed… Hospitals are near collapse… Destroyed infrastructure and homes will take years to rebuild. Even wars have limits,” it posted. The UN Human Rights Office differs. “Nowhere is safe in Gaza. Forcible transfer is a war crime. Collective punishment is a war crime,” it stated last Friday.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres differs. “We must join forces to end this nightmare for the people of Gaza, Israel and all those around the world,” he said on Monday. “The Laws of War establish clear rules to protect human life and respect humanitarian concerns. Those laws cannot be contorted for the sake of expedience.”
Pope Francis differs. He called for a ceasefire on Sunday, saying: “Stop, brothers and sisters. War is always a defeat.” At the UN General Assembly, 121 countries agreed with the pope and voted for a ceasefire a few days ago; only 12 states joined the US and Israel in opposing it. Rarely has either country appeared so isolated.
It is also tragic that the Israeli authorities’ gross disregard for Palestinian lives has been followed by a frightening rise in anti-Semitism around the world. A pogrom in a European country, as took place at the airport in Dagestan, Russia, on Monday, is a horror we could not have imagined we would see in the 21st century.
We know that the US has tremendous leverage over Mr Netanyahu’s government, should it wish to exert it. After Israel cut off all communications to Gaza last week, The Washington Post reported that the White House insisted they be switched back on. “We made it clear they had to be turned back on,” an official told the paper. “The communications are back on. They need to stay back on.”
But many will agree with Trita Parsi, co-founder and executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft in Washington. “Biden’s ‘pressure’ on Israel isn’t to prevent mass killings and war crimes,” he wrote. “Rather, its ‘pressure’ appears aimed at keeping Israel’s bombings and war crimes at a ‘tolerable’ level to keep the backlash against Israel manageable. Biden is doing ‘war crimes management’ for Netanyahu.”
That may seem very harsh. But Hanan Ashrawi, the veteran PLO politician and former minister, appears to concur. “The US administration: hollow, hypocritical words, complicit criminal actions. Please, stop insulting our intelligence. We see you; the world sees you,” she posted on Monday.
The point is very simple. As King Abdullah II of Jordan stated at the Cairo Summit for Peace more than a week ago, as far as Israel is concerned the message much of the world is hearing is that: “Palestinian lives matter less than Israeli ones. Our lives matter less than other lives. The application of international law is optional.”
The US is viewed, rightly or wrongly, as the one country that could have demanded that, while Israel had every right to self-defence, it must comply with international law. And from the very start, with the bombings that killed innocent people in Gaza after October 7, Israel did not – and we heard no condemnation from the US. As a consequence, Mr Biden’s moral authority, and that of allies such as the UK’s Rishi Sunak, have been irretrievably damaged in the eyes of billions.
After this, both men should be too embarrassed to talk about the international rules-based order. The rules clearly do not apply to the US and its allies. Some doubted whether this “order” ever really existed. There is no doubt now. What an irony that it should be Mr Biden who finished it off for good.
Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
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How to help
Donate towards food and a flight by transferring money to this registered charity's account.
Account name: Dar Al Ber Society
Account Number: 11 530 734
IBAN: AE 9805 000 000 000 11 530 734
Bank Name: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank
To ensure that your contribution reaches these people, please send the copy of deposit/transfer receipt to: juhi.khan@daralber.ae
Armies of Sand
By Kenneth Pollack (Oxford University Press)
Fifa Club World Cup quarter-final
Kashima Antlers 3 (Nagaki 49’, Serginho 69’, Abe 84’)
Guadalajara 2 (Zaldivar 03’, Pulido 90')
Essentials
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Delhi from about Dh950 return including taxes.
The hotels
Double rooms at Tijara Fort-Palace cost from 6,670 rupees (Dh377), including breakfast.
Doubles at Fort Bishangarh cost from 29,030 rupees (Dh1,641), including breakfast. Doubles at Narendra Bhawan cost from 15,360 rupees (Dh869). Doubles at Chanoud Garh cost from 19,840 rupees (Dh1,122), full board. Doubles at Fort Begu cost from 10,000 rupees (Dh565), including breakfast.
The tours
Amar Grover travelled with Wild Frontiers. A tailor-made, nine-day itinerary via New Delhi, with one night in Tijara and two nights in each of the remaining properties, including car/driver, costs from £1,445 (Dh6,968) per person.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
2018 ICC World Twenty20 Asian Western Regional Qualifier
Saturday results
Qatar beat Kuwait by 26 runs
Bahrain beat Maldives by six wickets
UAE beat Saudi Arabia by seven wickets
Monday fixtures
Maldives v Qatar
Saudi Arabia v Kuwait
Bahrain v UAE
* The top three teams progress to the Asia Qualifier
Greatest Royal Rumble results
John Cena pinned Triple H in a singles match
Cedric Alexander retained the WWE Cruiserweight title against Kalisto
Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt win the Raw Tag Team titles against Cesaro and Sheamus
Jeff Hardy retained the United States title against Jinder Mahal
Bludgeon Brothers retain the SmackDown Tag Team titles against the Usos
Seth Rollins retains the Intercontinental title against The Miz, Finn Balor and Samoa Joe
AJ Styles remains WWE World Heavyweight champion after he and Shinsuke Nakamura are both counted out
The Undertaker beats Rusev in a casket match
Brock Lesnar retains the WWE Universal title against Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
Braun Strowman won the 50-man Royal Rumble by eliminating Big Cass last
Read more about the coronavirus
Company profile
Name: Dukkantek
Started: January 2021
Founders: Sanad Yaghi, Ali Al Sayegh and Shadi Joulani
Based: UAE
Number of employees: 140
Sector: B2B Vertical SaaS(software as a service)
Investment: $5.2 million
Funding stage: Seed round
Investors: Global Founders Capital, Colle Capital Partners, Wamda Capital, Plug and Play, Comma Capital, Nowais Capital, Annex Investments and AMK Investment Office
Key findings
- Over a period of seven years, a team of scientists analysed dietary data from 50,000 North American adults.
- Eating one or two meals a day was associated with a relative decrease in BMI, compared with three meals. Snacks count as a meal. Likewise, participants who ate more than three meals a day experienced an increase in BMI: the more meals a day, the greater the increase.
- People who ate breakfast experienced a relative decrease in their BMI compared with “breakfast-skippers”.
- Those who turned the eating day on its head to make breakfast the biggest meal of the day, did even better.
- But scrapping dinner altogether gave the best results. The study found that the BMI of subjects who had a long overnight fast (of 18 hours or more) decreased when compared even with those who had a medium overnight fast, of between 12 and 17 hours.
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
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The Beach Bum
Director: Harmony Korine
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Isla Fisher, Snoop Dogg
Two stars
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
MATCH INFO
Uefa Nations League
League A, Group 4
Spain v England, 10.45pm (UAE)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Match on BeIN Sports
The chef's advice
Troy Payne, head chef at Abu Dhabi’s newest healthy eatery Sanderson’s in Al Seef Resort & Spa, says singles need to change their mindset about how they approach the supermarket.
“They feel like they can’t buy one cucumber,” he says. “But I can walk into a shop – I feed two people at home – and I’ll walk into a shop and I buy one cucumber, I’ll buy one onion.”
Mr Payne asks for the sticker to be placed directly on each item, rather than face the temptation of filling one of the two-kilogram capacity plastic bags on offer.
The chef also advises singletons not get too hung up on “organic”, particularly high-priced varieties that have been flown in from far-flung locales. Local produce is often grown sustainably, and far cheaper, he says.
Explainer: Tanween Design Programme
Non-profit arts studio Tashkeel launched this annual initiative with the intention of supporting budding designers in the UAE. This year, three talents were chosen from hundreds of applicants to be a part of the sixth creative development programme. These are architect Abdulla Al Mulla, interior designer Lana El Samman and graphic designer Yara Habib.
The trio have been guided by experts from the industry over the course of nine months, as they developed their own products that merge their unique styles with traditional elements of Emirati design. This includes laboratory sessions, experimental and collaborative practice, investigation of new business models and evaluation.
It is led by British contemporary design project specialist Helen Voce and mentor Kevin Badni, and offers participants access to experts from across the world, including the likes of UK designer Gareth Neal and multidisciplinary designer and entrepreneur, Sheikh Salem Al Qassimi.
The final pieces are being revealed in a worldwide limited-edition release on the first day of Downtown Designs at Dubai Design Week 2019. Tashkeel will be at stand E31 at the exhibition.
Lisa Ball-Lechgar, deputy director of Tashkeel, said: “The diversity and calibre of the applicants this year … is reflective of the dynamic change that the UAE art and design industry is witnessing, with young creators resolute in making their bold design ideas a reality.”
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
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More on Quran memorisation:
Why seagrass matters
- Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
- Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
- Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
- Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality
Sonchiriya
Director: Abhishek Chaubey
Producer: RSVP Movies, Azure Entertainment
Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Manoj Bajpayee, Ashutosh Rana, Bhumi Pednekar, Ranvir Shorey
Rating: 3/5
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
