A Banksy wall painting showing Israeli border policeman and Palestinian in a pillow fight is seen in one of the rooms of the "The Walled Off Hotel" in the West Bank city of Bethlehem. Dusan Vranic / AP Photo
A Banksy wall painting showing Israeli border policeman and Palestinian in a pillow fight is seen in one of the rooms of the "The Walled Off Hotel" in the West Bank city of Bethlehem. Dusan Vranic / AShow more

Opinion

Protest politics in Palestine

Banksy’s West Bank hotel brings attention to the struggle but we can’t forget who owns it

National Editorial

March 04, 2017

The controversial British artist Banksy has opened a hotel in the West Bank city of Bethlehem. The Walled Off Hotel is located just metres away from Israel’s separation barrier that divides Bethlehem from Jerusalem. Banksy has a long relationship with Bethlehem and this wall in particular. During the Second Intifada, the artist painted some of his most famous murals on the separation barrier in the city.

As Banksy explained the project to The Guardian, the new hotel is an attempt to foster dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians and bring international attention to the Palestinian struggle for freedom and rights. Indeed, media organisations around the world have rushed to feature the hotel’s varied and interesting interior. In one room, Banksy painted a powerful but jovial mural of an Israeli solider and a Palestinian protester having a pillow fight.

This hotel is a critical part of the internationalisation of the Palestinian struggle. But it is not an end in itself. For Palestinians, the struggle for rights and equality doesn’t have a start or a finish. It is about daily existence. It is about choosing to buy a Palestinian tomato over an Israeli one. It is the defiant act of existence in the face of domination. It is about organising their own creative protests. Every Friday, Palestinians across the West Bank hold their own protests against Israel’s wall and the occupation.

Creativity infuses and drives the struggle forward. In April, for example, Bethlehem will play host to the Right to Movement marathon. The annual running event was conceived to highlight movement restrictions in the West Bank and has grown to be an international marathon.

While Banksy’s new hotel will bring much-needed attention to life in Palestine, we must never forget that Palestinians are fighting every day in myriad ways for their freedom. While they welcome outside assistance in their quest for rights, they are not reliant on outside assistance. After the interest in Banksy’s hotel dies down, we have a duty to keep the Palestinians at the forefront of our thoughts.

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The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

Bangladesh tour of Pakistan

January 24 – First T20, Lahore

January 25 – Second T20, Lahore

January 27 – Third T20, Lahore

February 7-11 – First Test, Rawalpindi

April 3 – One-off ODI, Karachi

April 5-9 – Second Test, Karachi

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Scoreline

Arsenal 3
Aubameyang (28'), Welbeck (38', 81')
Red cards: El Neny (90' 3)

Southampton 2
Long (17'), Austin (73')
Red cards: Stephens (90' 2)

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

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

While you're here
The specs: 2019 BMW X4

Price, base / as tested: Dh276,675 / Dh346,800

Engine: 3.0-litre turbocharged in-line six-cylinder

Transmission: Eight-speed automatic

Power: 354hp @ 5,500rpm

Torque: 500Nm @ 1,550rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 9.0L / 100km