According to Hafez al Barghouthi in the Emirati newspaper al Bayan, the Kadima Party leader, Tzipi Livni, denied that the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has ever agreed to the two-state solution.
Ms Livni said something to the effect that "Mr Netanyahu knew what the world wanted for him to say, so he said it; he does not believe in it, he is against the establishment of a Palestinian state, even if it is de-weaponised."
Livni's statements contradict those who may consider that Netanyahu's sheer utterance of the phrase "Palestinian state" is a move closer towards the resumption of Palestinian-Israeli peace talks.
In fact, the US administration and Europe are about to slip into "the Israeli trap", as both sides have started pressuring the Palestinians into announcing a readiness to resume negotiations without preset goals, brushing aside the range of Israel's preconditions: Palestinians must recognise Israel as a Jewish state, with Jerusalem as its unconditional capital, while the refugees issue must be dealt with away from Israel, "as if it had originally been caused by someone else", Mr Barghouthi wrote. "Those privy to the essence of the religious, nationalistic ideology of the parties in Netanyahu's cabinet would know that they are all categorically hostile to a Palestinian state."
In a comment piece in the London-based daily Asharq al Awsat, Bilal al Hassan wrote that the inter-Palestinian dialogue currently held in Cairo under Egyptian supervision has become quite a perplexing matter.
Three defeatist views try to account for this situation but must be reversed. First, there is the assertion that the Palestinian divisions actually stem from a wider rift between the Arab world and Iran; the former, represented by Fatah, being in favour of negotiations with Israel, and the latter, embodied by Hamas, championing resistance.
But, within Fatah itself there are pro-resistance groups, the author argued. Likewise, though Hamas firmly upholds resistance, it does not indiscriminately dismiss diplomatic solutions and maintains strong alliances with major Arab states.
Second, there is the argument that Arab and international solidarity with the Palestinian cause is losing momentum as the internal strife between the Palestinian factions is turning violent. And third, there is the claim that future generations of Arabs will tire of the Palestinian cause and start prioritising economic development in their own countries.
Though partially accurate, these claims should be countered by Arabs and Palestinians, the writer suggested.
Over the last two years, Arab Islamist parties have lost significant ground in Jordan, Morocco, Kuwait and Lebanon, but this is no indication of the structural deterioration of political Islam, commented Khaled al Hroub in the pan-Arab daily Al Hayat.
"Islamist political movements will always be part of the Arab political scene, but their size and momentum will probably shrink in proportion to their shortage of concrete programmes to carry their promises through," he said.
The phenomenal surge of Islamist parties over the last few decades can be ascribed to three major factors: the exploitation of religious mottos cherished by the masses, the failure of other ideologies to capitalise on the emergence of the "independent modern state" and the constant popular resentment of the West for its passivity towards the Palestinian cause.
But this much can be learnt from the contemporary experience of political Islam: it has good chances of generating younger, moderate leaders who, aware of past fiascos, will work to bridge the gap between theory and reality; its "fundamentalist" forms are growing just as much as they are disappearing but these movements can no longer claim that they never had "the right opportunity".
Israel's deep discontent over the meeting of the French foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, with a Hizbollah parliamentarian, Nawaf al Mousawi, in Lebanon last Friday did not come as a surprise, commented Mazzen Hammad in the Qatari daily Al Watan.
Even if Hizbollah has always championed resistance in defending Lebanon against Israel's attacks to make up for a quasi-absent Lebanese national army, the party has nonetheless reacted positively to western initiatives to turn a new page in diplomatic relations.
"Mr Kouchner was right when, responding to criticism, he said that Hizbollah is part of Lebanon's political formation, and it is natural to meet with the party's MPs," the writer said.
Moreover, the mature stance of the opposition, led by Hizbollah, following their loss in the June parliamentary elections, did not only encourage western countries to open dialogue with the opposition but it also reinforced the principles of active, multiparty democracy in Lebanon.
"Now, in view of this European openness to Hizbollah, the US must cancel the Israeli 'veto', and start a dialogue with the party," the writer concluded.
* Digest compiled by Achraf A el Bahi
aelbahi@thenational.ae
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final, second leg (first-leg score):
Manchester City (0) v Tottenham Hotspur (1), Wednesday, 11pm UAE
Match is on BeIN Sports
Banned items
Dubai Police has also issued a list of banned items at the ground on Sunday. These include:
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Political flags or banners
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Bikes, skateboards or scooters
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
More on animal trafficking
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Final scores
18 under: Tyrrell Hatton (ENG)
- 14: Jason Scrivener (AUS)
-13: Rory McIlroy (NIR)
-12: Rafa Cabrera Bello (ESP)
-11: David Lipsky (USA), Marc Warren (SCO)
-10: Tommy Fleetwood (ENG), Chris Paisley (ENG), Matt Wallace (ENG), Fabrizio Zanotti (PAR)
Secret Pigeon Service: Operation Colomba, Resistance and the Struggle to Liberate Europe
Gordon Corera, Harper Collins
What is Diwali?
The Hindu festival is at once a celebration of the autumn harvest and the triumph of good over evil, as outlined in the Ramayana.
According to the Sanskrit epic, penned by the sage Valmiki, Diwali marks the time that the exiled king Rama – a mortal with superhuman powers – returned home to the city of Ayodhya with his wife Sita and brother Lakshman, after vanquishing the 10-headed demon Ravana and conquering his kingdom of Lanka. The people of Ayodhya are believed to have lit thousands of earthen lamps to illuminate the city and to guide the royal family home.
In its current iteration, Diwali is celebrated with a puja to welcome the goodness of prosperity Lakshmi (an incarnation of Sita) into the home, which is decorated with diyas (oil lamps) or fairy lights and rangoli designs with coloured powder. Fireworks light up the sky in some parts of the word, and sweetmeats are made (or bought) by most households. It is customary to get new clothes stitched, and visit friends and family to exchange gifts and greetings.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5