Despite a number of conflicts that appear to be intractable in the Middle East, a majority of Arabs do believe in peace. A recent survey of 4,605 people, including Palestinians and Israelis, has revealed that most Arabs believe the Palestinian-Israeli conflict can be solved in the near future.
The research, compiled by Zogby Research Services and Sky News Arabia, shows that eight in 10 of individuals surveyed from Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Israel believe that resolving the conflict is still important. Although only 15 per cent of Israelis thought such a feat was possible, an overwhelming majority expressed a desire to find a solution.
This year has been particularly gruelling for the Middle East. A number of nations had already been crippled by armed conflict, weakening institutions and the economic downturn from the coronavirus pandemic. It is a positive sign that the survey found hope and confidence in peace to be so high. More than half of all Arab respondents – including 76 per cent of Emiratis – said peace could be achieved in the next five years.
The survey was conducted before the Abraham Accord, in August, renewed the prospect of long-term peace. The UAE agreed to establish ties with Israel in the hope of advancing peace and stability in the region, including halting the annexation of Palestinian land. Annexation had been a hallmark campaign promise of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israeli and Palestinian leaders must heed the calls of their people and take advantage of the momentum from the Abraham Accord to return to the negotiating table.
For decades, the expansion of illegal settlements on Palestinian land has created enormous setbacks, intensifying a sense of injustice among Palestinians.
Annexation is also a hindrance to long-term peace between Israelis, Palestinians and their neighbours. More than 70 per cent of Arab respondents said that any normalisation efforts with Israel should stop if Israel goes ahead with annexation plans.
Palestinians must overcome a different set of challenges to achieve peace. Deeply embedded division at the top of the Palestinian leadership has fostered extremism and frustrated ordinary Palestinians. Groups such as Hamas and the Islamic Jihad Movement have taken advantage of civilian suffering to push foreign agendas at home, eroding hopes for dialogue and Palestinian unity.
Israeli and Palestinian leaders must heed the calls of their people and return to the negotiating table
Peace must also involve nations that have been embroiled in conflict with Israel and are home to a sizeable Palestinian refugee population, deprived of fundamental rights. While Jordan and Egypt have signed peace treaties with Israel, Lebanon and Syria do not recognise the country. Iran-backed Hezbollah holds great influence in Lebanon and calls for Israel’s destruction.
In recent weeks, there have been feeble signs that this inflexibility is giving way to dialogue, though for mainly pragmatic reasons. In the coming days, a Lebanese delegation is set to meet with Israeli officials for US-mediated talks to define the maritime borders of the two countries, which sits on potentially gas-rich areas. And last week, Syrian President Bashar Al Assad told Russian media that peace with Israel is conditioned on the return of the occupied Golan Heights, without mentioning Palestinian affairs.
Palestinians and Israelis long for peace and a dignified life. Their respective leaderships must heed their demands, and ensure that whatever bitterness lies between them, the arc of their shared history bends towards peace.
Match info
Manchester City 3 (Jesus 22', 50', Sterling 69')
Everton 1 (Calvert-Lewin 65')
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
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
RESULT
Wolves 1 (Traore 67')
Tottenham 2 (Moura 8', Vertonghen 90 1')
Man of the Match: Adama Traore (Wolves)
Honeymoonish
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PROFILE
Name: Enhance Fitness
Year started: 2018
Based: UAE
Employees: 200
Amount raised: $3m
Investors: Global Ventures and angel investors
Sour%20Grapes
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Small Victories: The True Story of Faith No More by Adrian Harte
Jawbone Press
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
What drives subscription retailing?
Once the domain of newspaper home deliveries, subscription model retailing has combined with e-commerce to permeate myriad products and services.
The concept has grown tremendously around the world and is forecast to thrive further, according to UnivDatos Market Insights’ report on recent and predicted trends in the sector.
The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.
The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.
UnivDatos cites younger and affluent urbanites as prime subscription targets, with women currently the largest share of end-users.
That’s expected to remain unchanged until 2025, when women will represent a $246.6bn market share, owing to increasing numbers of start-ups targeting women.
Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Results
Men's finals
45kg:Duc Le Hoang (VIE) beat Zolfi Amirhossein (IRI) points 29-28. 48kg: Naruephon Chittra (THA) beat Joseph Vanlalhruaia (IND) TKO round 2.
51kg: Sakchai Chamchit (THA) beat Salam Al Suwaid (IRQ) TKO round 1. 54kg: Veerasak Senanue (THA) beat Huynh Hoang Phi (VIE) 30-25.
57kg: Almaz Sarsembekov (KAZ) beat Tak Chuen Suen (MAC) RSC round 3. 60kg: Yerkanat Ospan (KAZ) beat Ibrahim Bilal (UAE) 30-27.
63.5kg: Abil Galiyev (KAZ) beat Nouredine Samir (UAE) 29-28. 67kg: Narin Wonglakhon (THA) beat Mohammed Mardi (UAE) 29-28.
71kg: Amine El Moatassime (UAE) w/o Shaker Al Tekreeti (IRQ). 75kg: Youssef Abboud (LBN) w/o Ayoob Saki (IRI).
81kg: Ilyass Habibali (UAE) beat Khaled Tarraf (LBN) 29-28. 86kg: Ali Takaloo (IRI) beat Emil Umayev (KAZ) 30-27.
91kg: Hamid Reza Kordabadi (IRI) beat Mohamad Osaily (LBN) RSC round 1. 91-plus kg: Mohammadrezapoor Shirmohammad (IRI) beat Abdulla Hasan (IRQ) 30-27.
Women's finals
45kg: Somruethai Siripathum (THA) beat Ha Huu Huynh (VIE) 30-27. 48kg: Thanawan Thongduang (THA) beat Colleen Saddi (PHI) 30-27.
51kg: Wansawang Srila Or (THA) beat Thuy Phuong Trieu (VIE) 29-28. 54kg: Ruchira Wongsriwo (THA) beat Zeinab Khatoun (LBN) 30-26.
57kg: Sara Idriss (LBN) beat Zahra Nasiri Bargh (IRI) 30-27. 60kg: Kaewrudee Kamtakrapoom (THA) beat Sedigheh Hajivand (IRI) TKO round 2.
63.5kg: Nadiya Moghaddam (IRI) w/o Reem Al Issa (JOR).
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
