Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed and Benjamin Netanyahu will sign the Abraham Accord on Tuesday, almost 42 years to the day since the first Arab-Israeli peace deal was formally concluded at the White House.
It will be a ceremony steeped in history and although the agreement is bilateral, the shadow of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, one of the most intractable in modern history, is not far away.
US officials say the signing will be at the Rose Garden, South Lawn, or indoors, where Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin shook hands after signing the Camp David Accords under Jimmy Carter’s supervision on September 17, 1978.
Sheikh Abdullah, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, has been in Washington since Sunday, a day ahead of Mr Netanyahu, to sign the agreement.
The accord was announced in mid-August, after a call between Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Mr Trump, and Mr Netanyahu.
In exchange for normal ties with the UAE, Israel agreed to halt annexation of Palestinian territories, and the two countries have started to establish co-operation in a number of fields.
Dr Anwar Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, told a meeting of the Arab League last week that the UAE exercised its sovereign right in signing the Abraham Accord.
But he said the deal was “an achievement and an important step" towards Middle East peace, while reaffirming UAE support for the creation of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
“The deal has created a chance that we firmly believe must be seized and built on,” Dr Gargash said.
Four decades ago, Egypt’s President Sadat faced internal opposition to his peace moves with Israel.
He visited Jerusalem in November 1977, as the Egyptian economy reeled under mismanagement and Soviet-style policies.
The Camp David Accords led to the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty in 1979 and the restoration to Egypt of the whole Sinai Peninsula, lost in the 1967 war to Israel.
Egypt also became one of the largest recipients of US aid.
But Sadat tried to appease the Muslim Brotherhood in 1980 by making Sharia the principal source of Egyptian legislation, through a constitutional amendment.
A year later, Khalid Al Islambuli, an officer and a member of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, a Brotherhood offshoot, killed Sadat at a military parade in Cairo.
Among those arrested in connection with the Sadat assassination was Ayman Al Zawahiri, the current head of Al Qaeda.
Externally, Sadat was condemned by the so-called Steadfastness and Confrontation Front, composed of the PLO, Libya, Algeria, South Yemen and Syria.
Syria and Egypt jointly launched the failed 1973 war against Israel but Hafez Al Assad and Sadat despised each other.
Sadat publicly denounced Alawite domination over Syria after Syrian state media criticised him for making peace with Israel.
But Sadat framed peace with Israel in terms of restoring Palestinian rights.
It will always be debated whether the Palestinians would have been better off had the PLO not opposed Camp David and responded to Sadat’s call to make peace with Israel at that time.
Yitzhak Rabin, Yasser Arafat and Bill Clinton shook hands at the South Lawn of the White House in front of Bill Clinton at the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, which the Palestinians negotiated without any other Arab state’s involvement.
The Oslo Accords prompted Jordan to accelerate its negotiations with Israel and the two countries signed the Wadi Araba Accord in the Jordan Valley in 1994.
The UAE will be the third Arab nation out of the 22-member Arab League to enter into an official state of peace with Israel after Egypt and Jordan, and will followed by Bahrain, which announced last week that it was establishing ties with Israel.
When Sadat and Begin were at the White House in 1978, Mr Netanyahu was running a counter-terrorism centre named after his brother, Jonathan, an Israeli commando killed in an operation to rescue Israeli hostages in Uganda.
Meanwhile, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed was months away from joining the military as the Emirates rulers embarked on a process of modernisation that turned the UAE into an economic centre and a regional political player.
Drishyam 2
Directed by: Jeethu Joseph
Starring: Mohanlal, Meena, Ansiba, Murali Gopy
Rating: 4 stars
Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
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Scoreline
Germany 2
Werner 9', Sane 19'
Netherlands 2
Promes 85', Van Dijk 90'
The biog
Name: Dr Lalia Al Helaly
Education: PhD in Sociology from Cairo
Favourite authors: Elif Shafaq and Nizar Qabbani.
Favourite music: classical Arabic music such as Um Khalthoum and Abdul Wahab,
She loves the beach and advises her clients to go for meditation.
The view from The National
The finalists
Player of the Century, 2001-2020: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Ronaldinho
Coach of the Century, 2001-2020: Pep Guardiola (Manchester City), Jose Mourinho (Tottenham Hotspur), Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid), Sir Alex Ferguson
Club of the Century, 2001-2020: Al Ahly (Egypt), Bayern Munich (Germany), Barcelona (Spain), Real Madrid (Spain)
Player of the Year: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Club of the Year: Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Real Madrid
Coach of the Year: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta), Hans-Dieter Flick (Bayern Munich), Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Agent of the Century, 2001-2020: Giovanni Branchini, Jorge Mendes, Mino Raiola
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Jiu-jitsu calendar of events for 2017-2018:
August 5:
Round-1 of the President’s Cup in Al Ain.
August 11-13:
Asian Championship in Vietnam.
September 8-9:
Ajman International.
September 16-17
Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, Ashgabat.
September 22-24:
IJJF Balkan Junior Open, Montenegro.
September 23-24:
Grand Slam Los Angeles.
September 29:
Round-1 Mother of The Nation Cup.
October 13-14:
Al Ain U18 International.
September 20-21:
Al Ain International.
November 3:
Round-2 Mother of The National Cup.
November 4:
Round-2 President’s Cup.
November 10-12:
Grand Slam Rio de Janeiro.
November 24-26:
World Championship, Columbia.
November 30:
World Beach Championship, Columbia.
December 8-9:
Dubai International.
December 23:
Round-3 President’s Cup, Sharjah.
January 12-13:
Grand Slam Abu Dhabi.
January 26-27:
Fujairah International.
February 3:
Round-4 President’s Cup, Al Dhafra.
February 16-17:
Ras Al Khaimah International.
February 23-24:
The Challenge Championship.
March 10-11:
Grand Slam London.
March 16:
Final Round – Mother of The Nation.
March 17:
Final Round – President’s Cup.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
About Tenderd
Started: May 2018
Founder: Arjun Mohan
Based: Dubai
Size: 23 employees
Funding: Raised $5.8m in a seed fund round in December 2018. Backers include Y Combinator, Beco Capital, Venturesouq, Paul Graham, Peter Thiel, Paul Buchheit, Justin Mateen, Matt Mickiewicz, SOMA, Dynamo and Global Founders Capital
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
The rules of the road keeping cyclists safe
Cyclists must wear a helmet, arm and knee pads
Have a white front-light and a back red-light on their bike
They must place a number plate with reflective light to the back of the bike to alert road-users
Avoid carrying weights that could cause the bike to lose balance
They must cycle on designated lanes and areas and ride safe on pavements to avoid bumping into pedestrians
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Fixture: Liechtenstein v Italy, Tuesday, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match is shown on BeIN Sports
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Frankenstein in Baghdad
Ahmed Saadawi
Penguin Press
Globalization and its Discontents Revisited
Joseph E. Stiglitz
W. W. Norton & Company
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Conservative MPs who have publicly revealed sending letters of no confidence
- Steve Baker
- Peter Bone
- Ben Bradley
- Andrew Bridgen
- Maria Caulfield
- Simon Clarke
- Philip Davies
- Nadine Dorries
- James Duddridge
- Mark Francois
- Chris Green
- Adam Holloway
- Andrea Jenkyns
- Anne-Marie Morris
- Sheryll Murray
- Jacob Rees-Mogg
- Laurence Robertson
- Lee Rowley
- Henry Smith
- Martin Vickers
- John Whittingdale
