"Sometimes," wrote Jared Kushner, the man charged with finding a solution to the Middle East's most intractable conflict, "you have to strategically risk breaking things in order to get there".
What Donald Trump's son-in-law failed to recognise, with such breathtakingly blithe disregard, is that Palestinians have been living with an entirely broken system, every day, for more than 70 years.
Stripped of their basic rights as citizens, rationed to the bare minimum of basic commodities and dealt with harshly whenever they dare to protest, they have already survived every attempt to break them.
Those living on the fringes of society, in refugee camps in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza, have already had everything but their dignity taken from them.
Now Mr Kushner would wish to take one more thing from them: the refugee status that enables them to receive life-saving aid.
In emails leaked to Foreign Policy magazine, he pressed Jordan to remove refugee status from the two million Palestinians living there so that UNRWA, the UN agency that supports them, would no longer need to give funding.
There was little faith left that America could be considered an honest broker in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process after Mr Trump moved the US embassy to Jerusalem in May in a ceremony attended by Mr Kushner.
With the revelation that Mr Kushner secretly called upon Jordan to revoke the refugee status of displaced Palestinians, all doubt has surely been swept away.
Can anyone in the Trump administration seriously believe that the Palestinians' refugee status is a choice or that anyone would willingly place themselves in such a situation if any other option were open to them? Israel displaced these people and has no intention of allowing them back home.
Where would the US, which has already halved funding to the UNRWA, have them go?
The implicit inhumanity in the emails demonstrates that the US administration is no friend of the Palestinian people, nor is it capable of acting as an impartial mediator.
As the point man of America's yet- to-be-disclosed road map for peace, it was Mr Kushner who stated in June that the US would pursue peace with or without the co-operation of Palestinians, prompting Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to publicly express his "gratitude for President Trump's support for Israel".
For decades, successive US presidents have sought and failed to resolve the conflict. At times they acted naively or clumsily but there has always been the hope of reconciling the objectives of Israel and the Palestinian people and ending decades of suffering.
It is tragically plain, however, that in the run-up to midterm elections, Mr Trump is interested only in playing to his domestic political gallery, stoking the prejudices and biases of the politically powerful pro-Israel lobby and white evangelical Christians, 80 per cent of whom voted for him.
For these voters, who believe in the idea of the Holy Land being ordained for the “chosen people", politics is a means to that end.
Moving the US embassy to Jerusalem as Mr Trump's way of keeping faith with their world view. What it failed to do, however, was resolve the Palestinian question.
Hope is fading that the US can do anything more than break the spirit and will of Palestinians. It is time to find another, more honest broker.
Stage result
1. Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix 4:42:34
2. Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Hansgrohe
3. Elia Viviani (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers
4. Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) BikeExchange-Jayco
5. Emils Liepins (Lat) Trek-Segafredo
6. Arnaud Demare (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
7. Max Kanter (Ger) Movistar Team
8. Olav Kooij (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
9. Tom Devriendt (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
10. Pascal Ackermann (Ger) UAE Team Emirate
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
Cracks in the Wall
Ben White, Pluto Press
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl, 48V hybrid
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: Dh359,000
On sale: now
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Mykonos, with a flight change to its partner airline Olympic Air in Athens. Return flights cost from Dh4,105 per person, including taxes.
Where to stay
The modern-art-filled Ambassador hotel (myconianambassador.gr) is 15 minutes outside Mykonos Town on a hillside 500 metres from the Platis Gialos Beach, with a bus into town every 30 minutes (a taxi costs €15 [Dh66]). The Nammos and Scorpios beach clubs are a 10- to 20-minute walk (or water-taxi ride) away. All 70 rooms have a large balcony, many with a Jacuzzi, and of the 15 suites, five have a plunge pool. There’s also a private eight-bedroom villa. Double rooms cost from €240 (Dh1,063) including breakfast, out of season, and from €595 (Dh2,636) in July/August.
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Breast cancer in men: the facts
1) Breast cancer is men is rare but can develop rapidly. It usually occurs in those over the ages of 60, but can occasionally affect younger men.
2) Symptoms can include a lump, discharge, swollen glands or a rash.
3) People with a history of cancer in the family can be more susceptible.
4) Treatments include surgery and chemotherapy but early diagnosis is the key.
5) Anyone concerned is urged to contact their doctor
Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final
Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont
Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950
Engine 3.6-litre V6
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 360Nm @ 2,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km
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MANDOOB
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