Why Trump's tariffs on 'foreign' films should make us ask: After David Lynch, who?
Hussein Ibish is a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute and a US affairs columnist for The National
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- The National
UAE's Al Habtoor Group explores investment opportunities in Syria
The billionaire Emirati entrepreneur Khalaf Al Habtoor is heading to Syria to explore new investment opportunities as the country opens up its economy following the lifting of US and EU sanctions. The founding chairman of the Dubai-based conglomerate Al Habtoor Group will lead a delegation of senior executives from the company to the war-ravaged Arab nation in the coming days, Al Habtoor Group said in a statement on Monday. 'Syria is a country rich in culture, history, and capable people. We believe in its future potential and are eager to play a role in its revival through meaningful projects that generate employment,' Mr Al Habtoor said. The Syrian economy has been devastated by the civil war, with the UN's Development Programme estimating cumulative losses – including physical damage and economic deprivation – at more than $923 billion at the end of last year. The estimated cost of reconstruction of the country, including critical road infrastructure, ports, aviation facilities and housing, will be somewhere between $250 billion and $500 billion, according to experts. In a recent interview with Wam, Mohammad Al Shaar, Syria's Minister of Economy and Industry, estimated the total cost of reconstruction at $1 trillion. 'As an Arab group with deep regional roots, we consider it both a moral and economic responsibility to stand as a partner in rebuilding stable and thriving societies,' Mr Al Habtoor said on Monday. The move come as Gulf countries as well as Turkey announce new investments in Syria after US President Donald Trump announced the removal of sanctions on the country last month during his Gulf visit. Dubai-based DP World is among the regional companies that have taken the lead in Syrian investments, with an $800 million deal to develop the port of Tartus. A consortium of companies from Turkey, Qatar and the US have also committed to invest $7 billion in Syria's energy sector to build new power plants to help the country overcome power shortage. Saudi Arabia and Qatar also paid $15.5 million to the World Bank to clear Syria's arrears and pave the way for Washington lender's support for Damascus. The UNDP is also planning to support Syria with $1.3 billion in funding over three years to rebuild its infrastructure and back digital start-ups. Set up by Mr Al Habtoor in 1970, Al Habtoor Group is active in multiple sectors, including hospitality, automotive, real estate, education, insurance and publishing, in the UAE and in international markets such as London, Vienna, Budapest, Beirut and the US. Earlier this year, Mr Al Habtoor said he would cancel all planned investments in Lebanon due to lack of security and stability in the country.
The National
an hour ago
- The National
Israel should work with regional states to 'build alternative to Hamas' in Gaza, left-wing leader says
Israel should work with regional powers to secure Gaza's future and establish an alternative to Hamas in the enclave, as well as forging an alliance against Iran, a key leader of the Israeli opposition has said. Yair Golan, a former deputy chief of the Israeli military who now leads the Democrats party, also said he was determined to 'save Israel from a messianic and extremist' government, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 's far-right coalition teeters on the brink of collapse. Mr Golan has emerged as one of the most dynamic leaders on the country's beleaguered political left, which for years has struggled to have its voice heard by voters in an increasingly religious and right-wing society. In an address on Monday to foreign journalists in East Jerusalem, he emphasised his stance – shared by the majority of Israelis, according to the most recent polling – that the government should prioritise efforts to secure a ceasefire deal and the release of hostages in Gaza, over continuing the conflict. 'I believe we can reach hostage deal in matter of days … I believe that by ending the war and freeing the hostages we will be able to build an alternative to Hamas inside Gaza Strip,' he said. 'We should work with the region in order to build this alternative. With the moderate Sunni countries we should build an alternative in order to provide Gazans with an alternative to the extreme and violent regime of Hamas.' Such efforts would also allow Israel to "forge a regional alliance against the Iranian threat', he added. Mr Golan has previously come under fire for his criticism of the war in Gaza. In May, he faced widespread condemnation for comments that appeared to criticise Israel for killing Gazan babies 'as a hobby'. 'Israel is on the way to becoming a pariah state, like South Africa was, if we don't return to acting like a sane country,' Mr Golan said on Kan radio. "A sane country does not fight against civilians, does not kill babies as a hobby and does not set itself the aim of expelling populations." He later said the remarks were aimed at Mr Netanyahu's government, rather than the military. Mr Golan also criticised the idea of annexing the occupied West Bank, a priority for some members of Mr Netanyahu's far-right coalition. He said the move would be a "disaster for Israel', given that millions of Palestinians would suddenly be added to the country's population. The Democrats party, which holds four of the 120 seats in Israel's parliament, also addressed the years-long saga over whether ultra-Orthodox Israelis should serve in the military like all other young Jewish citizens. The issue is coming to a head, with potentially terminal results for Mr Netanyahu's government. Ultra-Orthodox parties have threatened to withdraw from the coalition over the lack of progress in passing a law that would enshrine the community's exemption from military service. "The vast majority [of Israelis] want a new draft law that encompasses all young citizens of Israel," Mr Golan said.
The National
an hour ago
- The National
On Palestine at the UN, it's Netanyahu versus the world
The government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is setting the stage for the upcoming UN International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution. The three-day session, to be held in New York from June 17-20, will be chaired by the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. It is believed that at this confab, France and a number of other countries will formally recognise the State of Palestine. In an angry response, Mr Netanyahu announced that should France and others make this announcement, Israel will retaliate with the formal annexation of the Occupied Palestinian Territories. In a sense, the threats are meaningless, not because Israel couldn't take measures to sabotage a Palestinian state, but because this is precisely what it has been doing for several decades – and it has accelerated its efforts in the past few years. The daily news from Gaza is numbing. Earlier, in March this year, after 18 months of an immense toll in lives and property, Israel agreed to a ceasefire, only to break it and intensify its plans to wipe out and annex large swathes of this territory. Daily, there are reports of Israeli bombings, shelling, or shootings that kill scores of Palestinians at shelters or food distribution sites. In too many instances, Israeli officials first deny that it happened, then deny that they had anything to do with the killings – 'it might have been Hamas' or, 'if we did, it was because our soldiers were forced to shoot in the air' to control unruly crowds. When all else fails, the government obfuscates by announcing that a military review panel is looking into the matter (coupled with the charge that anyone prejudging the matter before the Israeli military publicly issues its findings – which they never do – must be harbouring an anti-Israel bias). The result is that there is no accountability, and the killings continue. The Netanyahu government's plan for Gaza is taking shape. The logic behind the Israeli-US 'humanitarian mission' in Gaza is now established and that is to facilitate their masterplan for the area to wipe out the population. First, the Israeli government is conducting 'mopping up' operations in the north, evicting as many Palestinians as possible from 80 per cent of Gaza and forcing them to congregate in congested areas along the southern border. Then, after denying Palestinians food aid for three months, they have set up these Israeli-run food distribution sites in the south with the clear message that 'if you're hungry and want food, this is the only place you'll get it.' As throngs of desperate Palestinians amass at the sites, Israeli forces use live ammunition as crowd control, killing dozens at each location. The entire enterprise is inhuman and yet it continues. The situation in the West Bank has gone from bad to worse. After months of raids that have taken the lives of 1,000 Palestinians and destroyed the homes of 40,000, the Israeli government has authorised the establishment of 22 new settlements, the confiscation of more Palestinian lands, and the construction of more Jewish-only roads. All of this will serve to further the cantonisation of the West Bank, isolating Palestinian population centres from one another. The design Israel's government is following was laid out in 1978 by Matityahu Drobles of the World Zionist Organisation. The Drobles Plan envisioned total conquest of the West Bank through the establishment of Israeli settlement blocs connected by highways and secured infrastructure that would divide the area making the establishment of a contiguous Palestinian state impossible. This was Drobles' declared intent. Back in the 1970s, Israel's Labour governments rejected this idea, preferring to build settlements along the 1967 lines. When the Likud party came to power, they embraced Drobles in 1979 and began to implement it, but without ever formally acknowledging it. Now they have. Palestinians in East Jerusalem fare no better. They still face threats of confiscation of homes and properties, the weaponisation of archaeology through which the Israeli government has seized sites they believe hold special importance to their history, while ignoring that same site's pre-history or current importance to Palestinian Muslims or Christians. And while Christians and Muslims are violently assaulted or harassed as they seek to pray on their faiths' holy days, Jewish worshippers are protected by the Israeli military as they violate what had been the previously accepted 'status quo' at the Haram Al Sharif. While in the past, these violations were carried out by a handful of Jewish religious extremists, now there are thousands, including officials, who annually invade the Haram. And as if to signal their clear intentions, Israeli officials have changed street signs which once pointed the way to the 'Haram' to now read the 'Temple'. And so, the upcoming UN sessions have the makings of a supreme test of wills. It pits the Israeli government, backed by the US, against the rest of the world. What Israel's government is doing and what it still can do is known. The question is whether other nations will find the resolve to directly confront Israel's plans and take action to isolate and seek accountability from it for its actions. It will require more than recognition of Palestinian rights, verbal protests, or resolutions of disapproval of Israeli policies. Europe can't just protest settlements and genocide in Gaza, while continuing to be the largest buyers of Israeli-made weapons. If they don't apply sanctions (like Spain) or boycott settlement products (like Ireland), nothing will change. In a real sense, at stake during next week's UN sessions is more than just recognition of a Palestinian state, it is the survival of the rule of law and human rights covenants and the integrity of the UN.
