In the dangerous situation that is escalating on the Israel-Lebanon border, there is a grave risk that further attacks by either side – whether deliberate or because of miscalculation – could descend into a wider war. For civilians living on either side of the frontier, this oppressive situation has been going on for much too long. Wael Mugrabi, the mayor of Ein Qiniyye, a Druze village in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, did not mince his words when he told The National this week that “we have been in the war since three days after October 7”.
It is a conflict in which more than 400 people have lost their lives since October 8, in addition to the thousands of civilians on either side who have been displaced by air strikes, drone attacks and other cross-border fire. Even more worryingly, as large sections of the international community appear to have run out of answers to the continuing Gaza conflict, similar indecision has greeted the Israeli military build-up in the north. Despite the presence of an American-led, UN Security Council-backed ceasefire plan for Gaza, Israel’s political and military establishment remains on a war footing, with some members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government openly calling for a war against Hezbollah. Meanwhile, Hezbollah seems to have almost entirely hijacked the decision-making over war in Lebanon.
Those who regard the Lebanese militia as source of “resistance” to Israel’s impunity in Gaza would be mistaken. Hezbollah’s main priority remains its own survival as well as maintaining its powerful position in Lebanon as a state within a state. Hezbollah seems not to have deterred Israeli forces from devastating Gaza and killing tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians. Instead, its actions have displaced thousands of Israeli non-combatants.
As with Hamas, the effects on civilians of crossing swords with the Israeli army – displacement, fear and trauma – is part of a cold military calculation. The people on whose behalf the radicals purport to fight are treated as a rhetorical abstraction, not individuals with families who did not ask to be dragged into another violent conflict. Hezbollah’s leaders and backers risk taking a fragile country with a caretaker government to war. Even if the group does not want to escalate beyond the current exchanges, persisting with attacks risks events spiralling out of control.
The consequences for Lebanon’s people, beyond those who have already lost their homes and livelihoods, would be severe. Many Lebanese do not need to be reminded about wars with Israel: the 15-year Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon came complete with massacres and sharpened existing sectarian divisions.
Into this precarious situation steps US mediator Amos Hochstein. On Monday, the American envoy arrived in Israel to discuss the situation at the border before travelling for meetings in Beirut. Mr Hochstein has valuable experience in this arena, having helped to broker a 2022 agreement between Israel and Lebanon – two states that are still technically at war and without diplomatic ties. That agreement demarcated the maritime boundary between the countries for the first time, enabling both to develop offshore gas fields and other natural resources.
Speaking in Lebanon after a meeting with political and military figures on Tuesday, Mr Hochstein said the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah “has gone on for long enough” adding that it was “in everyone’s interests to resolve it quickly and diplomatically”. He’s right, but the US can and should be doing more to restrain its ally before another front in this war opens up. Indeed, to avoid an additional conflict will require just as much political and diplomatic focus as that which has gone into Gaza, which remains unresolved.
There is nothing for anyone to gain by exchanging one war for another. Both Israel and Lebanon have much to lose from a full-blown war and nothing to gain in the long term. It’s time for both protagonists to take a step back.
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
The specs
BMW M8 Competition Coupe
Engine 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8
Power 625hp at 6,000rpm
Torque 750Nm from 1,800-5,800rpm
Gearbox Eight-speed paddleshift auto
Acceleration 0-100kph in 3.2 sec
Top speed 305kph
Fuel economy, combined 10.6L / 100km
Price from Dh700,000 (estimate)
On sale Jan/Feb 2020
Also on December 7 to 9, the third edition of the Gulf Car Festival (www.gulfcarfestival.com) will take over Dubai Festival City Mall, a new venue for the event. Last year's festival brought together about 900 cars worth more than Dh300 million from across the Emirates and wider Gulf region – and that first figure is set to swell by several hundred this time around, with between 1,000 and 1,200 cars expected. The first day is themed around American muscle; the second centres on supercars, exotics, European cars and classics; and the final day will major in JDM (Japanese domestic market) cars, tuned vehicles and trucks. Individuals and car clubs can register their vehicles, although the festival isn’t all static displays, with stunt drifting, a rev battle, car pulls and a burnout competition.
If you go
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Seattle from Dh5,555 return, including taxes.
The car
Hertz offers compact car rental from about $300 (Dh1,100) per week, including taxes. Emirates Skywards members can earn points on their car hire through Hertz.
The national park
Entry to Mount Rainier National Park costs $30 for one vehicle and passengers for up to seven days. Accommodation can be booked through mtrainierguestservices.com. Prices vary according to season. Rooms at the Holiday Inn Yakima cost from $125 per night, excluding breakfast.
Credits
Produced by: Colour Yellow Productions and Eros Now
Director: Mudassar Aziz
Cast: Sonakshi Sinha, Jimmy Sheirgill, Jassi Gill, Piyush Mishra, Diana Penty, Aparshakti Khurrana
Star rating: 2.5/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
World Sevens Series standing after Dubai
1. South Africa
2. New Zealand
3. England
4. Fiji
5. Australia
6. Samoa
7. Kenya
8. Scotland
9. France
10. Spain
11. Argentina
12. Canada
13. Wales
14. Uganda
15. United States
16. Russia
Top Hundred overseas picks
London Spirit: Kieron Pollard, Riley Meredith
Welsh Fire: Adam Zampa, David Miller, Naseem Shah
Manchester Originals: Andre Russell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Sean Abbott
Northern Superchargers: Dwayne Bravo, Wahab Riaz
Oval Invincibles: Sunil Narine, Rilee Rossouw
Trent Rockets: Colin Munro
Birmingham Phoenix: Matthew Wade, Kane Richardson
Southern Brave: Quinton de Kock
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre flat-six twin-turbocharged
Transmission: eight-speed PDK automatic
Power: 445bhp
Torque: 530Nm
Price: Dh474,600
On Sale: Now
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
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
The Scale for Clinical Actionability of Molecular Targets
Dolittle
Director: Stephen Gaghan
Stars: Robert Downey Jr, Michael Sheen
One-and-a-half out of five stars
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3ECompany%20name%3A%20Shipsy%3Cbr%3EYear%20of%20inception%3A%202015%3Cbr%3EFounders%3A%20Soham%20Chokshi%2C%20Dhruv%20Agrawal%2C%20Harsh%20Kumar%20and%20Himanshu%20Gupta%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20India%2C%20UAE%20and%20Indonesia%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20logistics%3Cbr%3ESize%3A%20more%20than%20350%20employees%3Cbr%3EFunding%20received%20so%20far%3A%20%2431%20million%20in%20series%20A%20and%20B%20rounds%3Cbr%3EInvestors%3A%20Info%20Edge%2C%20Sequoia%20Capital%E2%80%99s%20Surge%2C%20A91%20Partners%20and%20Z3%20Partners%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The biog
From: Upper Egypt
Age: 78
Family: a daughter in Egypt; a son in Dubai and his wife, Nabila
Favourite Abu Dhabi activity: walking near to Emirates Palace
Favourite building in Abu Dhabi: Emirates Palace
Tour de France 2017: Stage 5
Vittel - La Planche de Belles Filles, 160.5km
It is a shorter stage, but one that will lead to a brutal uphill finish. This is the third visit in six editions since it was introduced to the race in 2012. Reigning champion Chris Froome won that race.
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 2 (Van Dijk 18', 24')
Brighton 1 (Dunk 79')
Red card: Alisson (Liverpool)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
'Cheb%20Khaled'
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Kanye%20West
%3Cp%3EYe%20%E2%80%94%20the%20rapper%20formerly%20known%20as%20Kanye%20West%20%E2%80%94%20has%20seen%20his%20net%20worth%20fall%20to%20%24400%20million%20in%20recent%20weeks.%20That%E2%80%99s%20a%20precipitous%20drop%20from%20Bloomberg%E2%80%99s%20estimates%20of%20%246.8%20billion%20at%20the%20end%20of%202021.%3Cbr%3EYe%E2%80%99s%20wealth%20plunged%20after%20business%20partners%2C%20including%20Adidas%2C%20severed%20ties%20with%20him%20on%20the%20back%20of%20anti-Semitic%20remarks%20earlier%20this%20year.%3Cbr%3EWest%E2%80%99s%20present%20net%20worth%20derives%20from%20cash%2C%20his%20music%2C%20real%20estate%20and%20a%20stake%20in%20former%20wife%20Kim%20Kardashian%E2%80%99s%20shapewear%20firm%2C%20Skims.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE SQUAD
Ahmed Raza (Captain), Rohan Mustafa, Jonathan Figy, CP Rizwan, Junaid Siddique, Mohammad Usman, Basil Hameed, Zawar Farid, Vriitya Aravind (WK), Waheed Ahmed, Karthik Meiyappan, Zahoor Khan, Darius D'Silva, Chirag Suri
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
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MATCH INFO
Quarter-finals
Saturday (all times UAE)
England v Australia, 11.15am
New Zealand v Ireland, 2.15pm
Sunday
Wales v France, 11.15am
Japan v South Africa, 2.15pm
