In the two months since the Israel-Gaza war broke out, the desperation has reached a new peak. Much of Gaza has been flattened and, except for a week's pause in fighting, each day of the relentless Israeli offensive has unleashed new horrors. In addition to claiming thousands of Palestinian lives, Israel's air strikes and ground offensive have damaged or destroyed at least 45 per cent of homes, the UN humanitarian office estimates. By every measure, the crisis cannot be allowed to deepen.
“The situation is fast deteriorating into a catastrophe with potentially irreversible implications for Palestinians as a whole and for peace and security in the region,” the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday. Notably, he also invoked Article 99, a UN rule that was last used in 1989 for Lebanon, which allows the Secretary General to bring to the Security Council’s attention any matter that “may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security.”
The extent of the devastation should press the international community to be more vocal about a full ceasefire, the provision of aid and a return to diplomacy and the two-state solution, which remains the only way to resolve the issue.
On November 24, the world saw a glimpse of a breakthrough, with a temporary halt in fighting that lasted a week, during which time some of the Israeli hostages were exchanged for Palestinian detainees. A longer political solution is still the only way out, and for that all major parties need to speak in one voice and return to the path of diplomacy.
Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed said the UAE has submitted a draft resolution in the Security Council to demand an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, with the support of the Arab Group and the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation. The Palestinian Authority has echoed ceasefire calls.
In the past eight weeks, the Palestinian people have had to battle more than the grief of losing family. The Mayor of Gaza City, Yahya Al Sarraj, has said his municipality has lost 90 per cent of its water resources in the bombing, "along with everything that made people happy".
"We're starved, we're cold. But we have a tent over our head. We wouldn't know where to go if they made us leave once more," Umm Anas Al Serhi, a resident of Al Shati Camp in Northern Gaza, told The National.
There are other voices calling for the atrocities to stop and seeking accountability. These are voices that Israel will listen to, if not heed. The US is beginning to shift its rhetoric on the war and its Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, has made it clear that the rising death toll is unacceptable.
The EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, meanwhile, has backed Mr Guterres’s calls for a ceasefire and Belgium has banned entry of extremist West Bank settlers involved in violence.
The matter of possible war crimes by Hamas militants and Israeli forces has now come into sharper focus as well. Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, ended his first official visit to Israel and Ramallah saying that such an investigation “is a priority" for his office. His visit gave hope to countless people who have lamented a lack of legal recourse.
“We must show that the law is there, on the front lines, and that it is capable of protecting all,” Mr Khan said.
That will no doubt take time. But the process of ensuring an end to violence and beginning the long road for justice cannot be further delayed.
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Rating: 3/5
Directed by: David Yates
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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2024%20Dubai%20Marathon%20Results
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Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
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- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
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Rating: 5/5
Company%C2%A0profile
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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
Business Insights
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- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
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Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
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Fines for littering
In Dubai:
Dh200 for littering or spitting in the Dubai Metro
Dh500 for throwing cigarette butts or chewing gum on the floor, or littering from a vehicle.
Dh1,000 for littering on a beach, spitting in public places, throwing a cigarette butt from a vehicle
In Sharjah and other emirates
Dh500 for littering - including cigarette butts and chewing gum - in public places and beaches in Sharjah
Dh2,000 for littering in Sharjah deserts
Dh500 for littering from a vehicle in Ras Al Khaimah
Dh1,000 for littering from a car in Abu Dhabi
Dh1,000 to Dh100,000 for dumping waste in residential or public areas in Al Ain
Dh10,000 for littering at Ajman's beaches
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Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
Temple numbers
Expected completion: 2022
Height: 24 meters
Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people
Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people
First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time
First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres
Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres
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Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
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Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
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The specs
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Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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2. North America
3. Raven’s Corner
4. Hawkesbury
5. New Maharajah
6. Secret Ambition
The specs
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- Power: 640hp
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- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
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Rating: 3/5
