RAMALLAH // It may have garnered international praise, but for Hamas politicians the Palestinian Authority's security campaign in the West Bank is a politically motivated attempt to undermine the Islamist movement in the territory.
Earlier this week, Hamas yet again protested the arrests of some its members, this time 17 from four different West Bank towns on Sunday. For Mahmoud Ramahi, a Hamas legislator from Ramallah, the PA budget allocation for the security services, the arrests, and the closures of more than 100 charitable societies with links to Hamas all point to a "political plan to target Hamas and the resistance, imposed on the PA by the US in return for continued donations".
The "security success" that the government of Salam Fayyad, the Palestinian prime minister, likes to pride itself on, said Mr Ramahi in his office on Tuesday, is "creating a police regime in the West Bank."
That is not the way international actors see it. Tony Blair, the Middle East Quartet representative, has praised Palestinian security forces for a three-year crackdown that began after Mahmoud Abbas, the PA president, dismissed the Hamas-led government of Ismail Haniyeh in the wake of the violence that saw Hamas oust Fatah-affiliated security forces in the Gaza Strip in 2007. The efforts of the security forces have been instrumental in imposing law and order on often chaotic West Bank streets, Mr Blair had said.
Major Gen Adnan Damiri, the spokesman of the PA's security forces, rejected the idea that Hamas had been targeted and said the security services had instead succeeded in removing "illegal weapons" from all militant groups in the West Bank in order to ensure that the government of Mr Fayyad could get on with its programme and abide by its international obligations, including ending attacks on Israeli targets.
As for the charitable societies that had been closed, Mr Damiri said they had all been used to illegally funnel money to militant groups. But Hamas officials point to their closure and the thousands of arrests of Hamas members as evidence that the PA is not concerned about security per se, but rather about hurting Hamas.
Of 164 charitable institutions that the movement ran in the West Bank, 138 have been closed completely in the past three years, according to Mr Ramahi. The rest had been allowed to continue only after their executive boards were replaced. Mr Ramahi said the institutions had been targeted because they provided a "link between Hamas and the people".
He denied that charities had funnelled money to Hamas, and pointed out that after the September 11 attacks, regulations for charities had been tightened to such a degree that even if people wanted to launder money through charities, "there was no way to do so".
Nevertheless, it is clear that the focus on charitable societies forms part of a larger financial security strategy that one Palestinian intelligence source said was a "carefully planned, front line" effort to impose control over the flows of money into the West Bank.
This effort has included tighter controls over money exchange shops and greater oversight of bank accounts. Charities had been one way to launder money from abroad, the intelligence officer said, citing an example from Hebron where one charity had 52 security guards on its payroll. "These turned out to be salaries for Izzedine al Qassam members [the armed wing of Hamas]," said the source, who declined to be identified but who is intimately familiar with the financial investigations of the Palestinian security services.
Officially, the PA maintains that the charities were closed because of financial irregularities. But while the intelligence source maintained that the charities had been a way for Hamas to bring in money, he said they were not necessarily the most effective way. He also conceded that many of the accused charities had yet to have their cases heard before the courts.
The focus on Hamas and its institutions, he added, had been a political decision. "There was a strong feeling that if Hamas was not targeted, what happened in Gaza could be repeated here."
Palestinian security sources maintain that Hamas has been debilitated by the crackdown. One claimed that the PA has confiscated as much as US$100 million (Dh367m) in cash from the movement and its institutions. Hamas security sources say that the number is closer to $20m and that the money belongs to families of prisoners and those orphaned in fighting with Israel.
Mr Ramahi, meanwhile, rejected that Hamas had been weakened in the West Bank. On the contrary, he said, the closure of charitable institutions was backfiring on the PA.
"These charities looked after 100,000 people. Their closure is an injustice, and for this, people will react."
okarmi@thenational.ae
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
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.”
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
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Du Football Champions
The fourth season of du Football Champions was launched at Gitex on Wednesday alongside the Middle East’s first sports-tech scouting platform.“du Talents”, which enables aspiring footballers to upload their profiles and highlights reels and communicate directly with coaches, is designed to extend the reach of the programme, which has already attracted more than 21,500 players in its first three years.
The%20specs%3A%202024%20Mercedes%20E200
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.0-litre%20four-cyl%20turbo%20%2B%20mild%20hybrid%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E204hp%20at%205%2C800rpm%20%2B23hp%20hybrid%20boost%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E320Nm%20at%201%2C800rpm%20%2B205Nm%20hybrid%20boost%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E9-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E7.3L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENovember%2FDecember%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh205%2C000%20(estimate)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPowertrain%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle%20electric%20motor%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E201hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E310Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBattery%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E53kWh%20lithium-ion%20battery%20pack%20(GS%20base%20model)%3B%2070kWh%20battery%20pack%20(GF)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETouring%20range%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E350km%20(GS)%3B%20480km%20(GF)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh129%2C900%20(GS)%3B%20Dh149%2C000%20(GF)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
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
