'Countless' reasons for world to push Israel on Jerusalem



Countless are the UN resolutions referring to East Jerusalem as an occupied city, and countless are the international references to Palestine, which includes East Jerusalem, as a state under occupation.

Countless are the international laws violated by Israel; reaffirmations that there will be no peace without a free and sovereign Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

And countless are the reminders that Israel is not interested in a two-state solution with Palestine as a sovereign country on the 1967 borders. These reminders come in the form of Israeli colonial settlement construction in and around Jerusalem, families fearing eviction and demolition of their homes, and the many families divided by discriminatory Israeli laws intended to forcible displace Jerusalemites from their city.

From the beginning of the 1967 occupation, Israel's stated goal has been to make Jerusalem the "eternal and undivided capital of the Jewish people". For this purpose, Israel has imposed several policies of separation and fragmentation on the Palestinian people and their land, including denying Palestinians their right to access freely their holy sites in the occupied Old City. Just last month we witnessed how thousands of Palestinian Christians, members of the oldest Christian community in the world, were prevented from praying at Easter in their spiritual and national capital, Jerusalem.

The dire situation for Palestinian Christians and Muslims is discussed in many international documents, from the US State Department's International Religious Freedom Report to the report by the UN's fact-finding mission on Israeli settlements. The recent EU heads of mission report on Jerusalem stated that "the government of Israel selectively enforces legal and policy restrictions on religious freedom and on access in particular for Christian and Muslim worshippers to their holy sites located in Jerusalem/Old City throughout the year."

Along with countless other policies in East Jerusalem and wider Palestine, this is a reality that has dramatically affected the social fabric of Palestine.

Israel treats non-Jews as merely consumers to be brought to Israeli hotels by Israeli tour operators and to be presented with a Zionist narrative through their tour guides.

And the international community plays a direct and indirect role in this situation, by dealing with Israeli tour operators and Israeli government agencies that push the pro-colonial settler agenda rather than honouring Israel's international obligations. The guise of "technical cooperation" has resulted in governments and even churches signing agreements with the Israeli ministry of tourism and the so-called "Jerusalem Municipality", two of the main orchestrators of this campaign.

The Israeli government has been working tirelessly to coordinate the actions of the municipality with colonial settler groups, to consolidate their vision of an exclusively Jewish city. They have allowed settlers to take property considered to be "abandoned" (meaning, in reality, that the owners were expelled and are not allowed to return to their homes) as well as developing other ways to implant extremist colonial settlers in the heart of Palestinian neighbourhoods.

From Silwan to Sheikh Jarrah and the Old City, Palestinians are suffering daily violence due to Israeli settlers under the permissive gaze of the occupation forces. Children being beaten, priests being spat at and families being harassed are becoming common practices for settlers in occupied parts of East Jerusalem.

Israel's precondition of Palestine recognising it as a "Jewish state" is part of the same goal: for Palestine to legitimise discriminatory policies to regulate demographics, restrict access and prevent Palestinian development.

This is what the repeated slogan of Jerusalem as the "eternal and undivided capital of the Jewish people" means for us. Despite several Israeli attempts, we will not be made to feel like tourists in our own country who should be thankful when the occupying power grants a few permits to let us visit our city. All that Palestinians are asking for is freedom and justice, rather than a consolidated occupation and continued colonisation.

The urgency of the situation demands nothing less than speedy international action - as opposed to countless statements - to protect the Palestinian people and the prospects of peace, by ending Israel's occupation and colonisation activities. Jerusalem is a very good example which reveals how Israel's belligerent occupation has been advanced over almost half a century.

The countless consequences to Palestine's social fabric are not getting us closer to peace. Destroying the two-state solution will not make Israel feel safer. Israel should be held to account before we witness another catastrophe. Ending Israeli colonialism and apartheid policies against the Palestinian people will allow Jerusalem to be, once again, what it is meant to be for the three monotheistic religions, for Palestine and for Israel: a city of peace.

Dr Sabri Saidam is an adviser to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas

Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha

Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar

Director: Neeraj Pandey

Rating: 2.5/5

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Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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Seemar’s top six for the Dubai World Cup Carnival:

1. Reynaldothewizard
2. North America
3. Raven’s Corner
4. Hawkesbury
5. New Maharajah
6. Secret Ambition

Moon Music

Artist: Coldplay

Label: Parlophone/Atlantic

Number of tracks: 10

Rating: 3/5

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The biog

Marital status: Separated with two young daughters

Education: Master's degree from American Univeristy of Cairo

Favourite book: That Is How They Defeat Despair by Salwa Aladian

Favourite Motto: Their happiness is your happiness

Goal: For Nefsy to become his legacy long after he is gon

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
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Men’s singles 
Group A:
Son Wan-ho (Kor), Lee Chong Wei (Mas), Ng Long Angus (HK), Chen Long (Chn)
Group B: Kidambi Srikanth (Ind), Shi Yugi (Chn), Chou Tien Chen (Tpe), Viktor Axelsen (Den)

Women’s Singles 
Group A:
Akane Yamaguchi (Jpn), Pusarla Sindhu (Ind), Sayaka Sato (Jpn), He Bingjiao (Chn)
Group B: Tai Tzu Ying (Tpe), Sung Hi-hyun (Kor), Ratchanok Intanon (Tha), Chen Yufei (Chn)

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Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
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Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
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Our legal consultant

Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

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Director: Laila Abbas

Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum

Rating: 4/5

The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol

Power: 154bhp

Torque: 250Nm

Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option 

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Jigra
Director: Vasan Bala
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Rated: 3.5/5
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The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
SNAPSHOT

While Huawei did launch the first smartphone with a 50MP image sensor in its P40 series in 2020, Oppo in 2014 introduced the Find 7, which was capable of taking 50MP images: this was done using a combination of a 13MP sensor and software that resulted in shots seemingly taken from a 50MP camera.

About Proto21

Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group

Company profile

Name: Back to Games and Boardgame Space

Started: Back to Games (2015); Boardgame Space (Mark Azzam became co-founder in 2017)

Founder: Back to Games (Mr Azzam); Boardgame Space (Mr Azzam and Feras Al Bastaki)

Based: Dubai and Abu Dhabi 

Industry: Back to Games (retail); Boardgame Space (wholesale and distribution) 

Funding: Back to Games: self-funded by Mr Azzam with Dh1.3 million; Mr Azzam invested Dh250,000 in Boardgame Space  

Growth: Back to Games: from 300 products in 2015 to 7,000 in 2019; Boardgame Space: from 34 games in 2017 to 3,500 in 2019