JERUSALEM // As Palestinian leaders gingerly respond to a diplomatic blow delivered to them by Washington on Friday, analysts say the US veto of a Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements has highlighted their diplomatic and political weakness.
Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority (PA) president, seemed to go out of his way to express his commitment to the US a day after it vetoed a draft resolution in the UN Security Council that would have condemned Israel's settlements as "illegal".
Not only did the move appear to contradict previous statements made by the administration of Barack Obama, the US president, which criticised Israel's expanding and internationally shunned settlement enterprise. It was the first veto used by Washington at the world body since Mr Obama took office, as well as the only one wielded during Friday's vote; the other 14 members of the often bitterly divided Council agreed to rule in favour.
The measure was months in the making and represented a new strategy by Palestinian leaders to seek international legitimacy for their statehood ambitions beyond the framework of US-sponsored talks with Israel. They walked away from the most recent round of negotiations in September after Israel refused to extend a partial moratorium on settlement construction in the West Bank.
Yet, in a statement posted on the website of the Palestinian news agency Wafa on Saturday, Mr Abbas responded with a conciliatory tone to the diplomatic snub. "We do not seek to boycott the American administration and it is not in our interest to boycott anyone," he said.
Later, Reuters reported, he also reaffirmed to George Mitchell, the US Middle East envoy, his commitment to the peace process.
Some see the cool-headed response as more a commitment to receiving financial and security largess from a global superpower than a belief that a lasting Israel-Palestinian peace can be forged through more talks.
Last year, for example, the United States gave nearly a quarter billion dollars to the PA, and its increasingly proficient security forces draw heavily on US funding and training.
Musa al Budeiri, a professor of political science at the West Bank's Birzeit University, described this reliance as a conundrum for the Palestinian leadership. While the US is providing important material benefits for the PA, he questioned how its leaders would ever earn significant diplomatic leverage from Washington given its enduring ties with Israel.
"I'm going to be 65 in June, and I have no memory of the US vetoing resolutions that did not favour Israel," he said.
The Palestinians would need to find a more impartial broker to resolve their conflict with Israel, he said. But Mr al Budeiri was at a loss for alternatives. "Where else can the PA turn to?" he said. "Who can it [the PA] call on? It can call on all sorts of people with no influence and power, but why would they do that?"
Part of the problem has to do with the perceived legitimacy of Mr Abbas. He and officials in the PA are widely regarded as unpopular, propped up by foreign powers, chief among them the US, and prone to corruption.
In response to the regional unrest that ousted governments in Tunisia and Egypt, they have responded with a number of decisions apparently aimed to allay such concerns.
This month, the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organisation announced long-awaited presidential and legislative elections to be held by September.
Then the PA prime minister, Salam Fayyad, who was appointed by Mr Abbas, announced last week his intention to reshuffle the cabinet. Yesterday, he even proffered forming a unity government with Hamas, a regional antagonist of Washington's and longtime enemy of Mr Abbas's that drove out his ruling faction, Fatah, from Gaza in 2007.
But in the face of revolutionary fervour continuing to sweep through the region, some say Mr Abbas and his colleagues must take bolder measures if they want to remain in the job. That may require an even more defiant tone with Washington and its insistence that the Palestinians return to the negotiating table with Israel.
Hani al Masri, a Palestinian analyst and journalist, said: "If Abu Mazen continues on the same policies, he will be in a bad situation: his authority will collapse and his credibility too."
He said the US veto had dashed hopes among Palestinians for achieving an independent state, "because if the US doesn't support the Palestinian on settlements, then how will it support the Palestinians when it comes to building their own state?"
But the PA, Mr Masri said, might have to go even further and consider a nonviolent intifada.
"In Egypt, they didn't wait for the green light from the United States," he said. "We can move without the permission from the United State. And in the end, they'll have to support us because they can't lose the support of the Palestinians and with them, the Arabs."
hnaylor@thenational.ae
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%3Cp%3EAverage%20amount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20at%20DIC%20factory%20every%20month%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EApproximately%20106%2C000%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAmount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20from%201%20litre%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%20%3Cstrong%3E920ml%20(92%25)%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETime%20required%20for%20one%20full%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%20used%20cooking%20oil%20to%20biofuel%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EOne%20day%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EEnergy%20requirements%20for%20one%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%201%2C000%20litres%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%96%AA%20Electricity%20-%201.1904%20units%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Water-%2031%20litres%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Diesel%20%E2%80%93%2026.275%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
MATCH INFO
Jersey 147 (20 overs)
UAE 112 (19.2 overs)
Jersey win by 35 runs
More about Middle East geopolitics
The specs: 2018 Opel Mokka X
Price, as tested: Dh84,000
Engine: 1.4L, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: Six-speed auto
Power: 142hp at 4,900rpm
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Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L / 100km
Crazy Rich Asians
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeon, Gemma Chan
Four stars
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Yabi%20by%20Souqalmal%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMay%202022%2C%20launched%20June%202023%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAmbareen%20Musa%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20u%3C%2Fstrong%3Endisclosed%20but%20soon%20to%20be%20announced%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E12%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eseed%C2%A0%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EShuaa%20Capital%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
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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.”
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
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Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
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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.
Stree
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Movies
Director: Amar Kaushik
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, Abhishek Banerjee
Rating: 3.5
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