When US President Donald Trump yesterday defended Israel's renewed air strikes on Gaza – saying the country “should hit back” if Israeli troops were killed – he added that nothing would jeopardise the ceasefire.
Many, including the families of the dozens of Palestinians killed in this latest Israeli bombardment, will undoubtedly question exactly what kind of truce allows the stronger party to lash out with overwhelming force on an overcrowded urban area when its soldiers are attacked. They are also entitled to know what those still firing on Israeli troops aim to achieve, apart from drawing more collective punishment down on the heads of Palestinian civilians.
The danger facing Gaza now is not that the 20-point plan to end the war – painstakingly negotiated and agreed with US backing – will collapse, but that it will become a Potemkin peace in which the facade of an agreement accompanies continuing violence. One need only look to Lebanon to see what such a ceasefire looks like.
There, Israeli forces have repeatedly broken a ceasefire deal. On Monday, five people were killed in Israeli strikes on southern and eastern Lebanon, as US envoy Morgan Ortagus arrived in the country. In August, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, the head of Israel’s army, boasted that air strikes on Lebanon had breached the ceasefire close to 600 times. At the same time, occupying Israeli troops show no sign of withdrawing from Lebanese territory.
Although Lebanon has thankfully not returned to full-blown warfare, the idea that a functioning ceasefire is in place is a convenient fiction. It allows Israel to engage diplomatically with other parties while reserving the right to strike when and where it wishes. This points to how a dangerous hubris, married with a lack of seriousness, has come to characterise the Israeli leadership’s approach to making peace.
Ultimately, yesterday’s Israeli strikes on Gaza create a problem for all sides. Renewed violence delays the implementation of Phase 2 of the peace plan – which includes disarming Hamas. Israel may feel that its armed forces are entitled to act as they please but the angry and public US reaction to last week’s Knesset vote on annexing the occupied West Bank shows that such misplaced confidence and self-regard is leading Israel to a precarious place.
Ultimately, yesterday’s Israeli strikes on Gaza are self-defeating. Renewed violence delays the implementation of Phase 2 of the peace plan – which includes disarming Hamas
In a situation as volatile as Gaza’s, where there is no trust between the main protagonists, it was expected that the ceasefire would be tested. That makes the work of solidifying the peace plan and moving it forward that much more important. High-level diplomatic work on moving to the next phases is taking place with the involvement of US figures and key Middle East countries. That should not be derailed by quixotic attacks by Palestinian militants or air strikes by Israel.
That Mr Trump is occupied with a high-profile tour of Asian countries right now makes it possible that Israeli strategists spy an opportunity to maximise the country’s gains and inflict further pain on its enemies. However, the US administration needs to be more focused and forceful in protecting an agreement that bears the US President's signature.
Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
HAJJAN
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
World record transfers
1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
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The Bio
Favourite Emirati dish: I have so many because it has a lot of herbs and vegetables. Harees (oats with chicken) is one of them
Favourite place to go to: Dubai Mall because it has lots of sports shops.
Her motivation: My performance because I know that whatever I do, if I put the effort in, I’ll get results
During her free time: I like to drink coffee - a latte no sugar and no flavours. I do not like cold drinks
Pet peeve: That with every meal they give you a fries and Pepsi. That is so unhealthy
Advice to anyone who wants to be an ironman: Go for the goal. If you are consistent, you will get there. With the first one, it might not be what they want but they should start and just do it
