NAZARETH, ISRAEL // The disclosure of a letter last week outlining supposed US concessions to Israel will cause Palestinians to be even more sceptical about US and Israeli roles in the peace talks. David Makovsky, of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, disclosed last week that the concessions were in a letter from Barack Obama, the US president, to Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister.
Mr Obama's administration flatly denied such a letter was sent. "No letter was sent to Prime Minister Netanyahu. We're not going to comment on sensitive diplomatic matters," Tommy Vietor, a White House spokesman, said last week. Nonetheless, Mr Makovsky said Mr Obama made a series of generous offers to Israel in the letter. The offer supposedly seeks a single concession from Mr Netanyahu: a two-month extension of the partial freeze on settlement growth.
Mr Netanyahu has not extended a previous 10-month freeze, which ended a week ago. That threatens to bring the negotiations to a halt. The Palestinians are expected to decide whether to quit the talks over the coming days. Mr Netanyahu is reported to have declined the reported US offer. And according to the Israeli media, officials in Washington are privately incensed by Mr Netanyahu's rejection.
Mr Makovsky is a close associate of Dennis Ross, Mr Obama's chief adviser on the Middle East, who is said to have initiated the offer. The letter's contents have been partly confirmed by Jewish US senators who attended a briefing last week by Mr Ross. In return for the 60-day settlement moratorium, the United States promised to veto any UN Security Council proposal on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict over the next year, according to Mr Makovsky. Washington also committed not to seek any further extensions of the freeze. The future of the settlements would be addressed only in a final agreement.
The White House would also allow Israel to keep a military presence in the West Bank's Jordan Valley, even after the creation of a Palestinian state; continue controlling the borders of the Palestinian territories to prevent smuggling; provide Israel with enhanced weapons systems, security guarantees and increase its annual aid, and create a regional security pact against Iran. There are several conclusions the Palestinian leadership is certain to draw from this attempt at deal-making over their heads.
The first is that the US president, much like his predecessors, is in no position to act as an honest broker. His interests in the negotiations largely coincide with Israel's. Mr Obama needs a short renewal of the freeze, and the semblance of continuing Israeli and Palestinian participation in the "peace process", until the US congressional elections in November. Criticism by the powerful pro-Israel lobby in Washington may damage Mr Obama's Democratic Party unless he treads a very thin line. He needs to create the impression of progress in the Middle East talks but not upset Israel's supporters by making too many demands of Mr Netanyahu.
The second conclusion - already strongly suspected by Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, and his advisers - is that Mr Netanyahu, despite his professed desire to establish a Palestinian state, is being insincere. The supposed White House offer meets most of Mr Netanyahu's demands for US security and diplomatic assistance even before the negotiations have produced tangible results. For Mr Netanyahu to reject the offer so lightly, even though the United States was expecting relatively little in return, suggests he is either in no mood or in no position to make real concessions to the Palestinians on statehood.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz on Friday reported senior White House officials as saying that they were no longer "buying the excuse of political difficulties" for Mr Netanyahu in holding his right-wing governing coalition together. If he cannot keep his partners on board over a short freeze on illegal settlement building, what meaningful permanent concessions can he make in the talks? The third conclusion for the Palestinians is that no possible combination of governing parties in Israel is capable of signing an agreement with Mr Abbas that will not entail significant compromises on the territorial integrity of a Palestinian state.
One US concession - allowing Israel to maintain its hold on the Jordan Valley, nearly one fifth of the West Bank, for the foreseeable future - reflects a demand common to all Israeli politicians, not just Mr Netanyahu. In fact, the terms of the letter were drafted in cooperation with Ehud Barak, Israel's defence minister and leader of the Labor Party. When he was prime minister a decade ago, he insisted on a similar military presence in the Valley during the failed Camp David talks.
Ariel Sharon, his successor and founder of the centrist Kadima Party, planned a new section of the separation wall to divide the Jordan Valley from the rest of the West Bank, though the scheme was put on hold after US objections. Today, most Palestinians cannot enter the Jordan Valley without a special permit that is rarely issued, and the area's tens of thousands of Palestinian inhabitants are subjected to constant military scrutiny. B'Tselem, an Israeli human rights group, has accused Israel of a "de facto annexation" of the area.
But without the Jordan Valley, the creation of a viable Palestinian state - even one limited to the West Bank, without Gaza - would be inconceivable. Statehood would instead resemble the Swiss-cheese model the Palestinians have long feared is all Israel is proposing.
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
Company%20Profile
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MATCH INFO
England 19 (Try: Tuilagi; Cons: Farrell; Pens: Ford (4)
New Zealand 7 (Try: Savea; Con: Mo'unga)
MEDIEVIL%20(1998)
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UJDA CHAMAN
Produced: Panorama Studios International
Directed: Abhishek Pathak
Cast: Sunny Singh, Maanvi Gagroo, Grusha Kapoor, Saurabh Shukla
Rating: 3.5 /5 stars
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
And%20Just%20Like%20That...
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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.
More on Quran memorisation:
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
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Spain drain
CONVICTED
Lionel Messi Found guilty in 2016 of of using companies in Belize, Britain, Switzerland and Uruguay to avoid paying €4.1m in taxes on income earned from image rights. Sentenced to 21 months in jail and fined more than €2m. But prison sentence has since been replaced by another fine of €252,000.
Javier Mascherano Accepted one-year suspended sentence in January 2016 for tax fraud after found guilty of failing to pay €1.5m in taxes for 2011 and 2012. Unlike Messi he avoided trial by admitting to tax evasion.
Angel di Maria Argentina and Paris Saint-Germain star Angel di Maria was fined and given a 16-month prison sentence for tax fraud during his time at Real Madrid. But he is unlikely to go to prison as is normal in Spain for first offences for non-violent crimes carrying sentence of less than two years.
SUSPECTED
Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid's star striker, accused of evading €14.7m in taxes, appears in court on Monday. Portuguese star faces four charges of fraud through offshore companies.
Jose Mourinho Manchester United manager accused of evading €3.3m in tax in 2011 and 2012, during time in charge at Real Madrid. But Gestifute, which represents him, says he has already settled matter with Spanish tax authorities.
Samuel Eto'o In November 2016, Spanish prosecutors sought jail sentence of 10 years and fines totalling €18m for Cameroonian, accused of failing to pay €3.9m in taxes during time at Barcelona from 2004 to 2009.
Radamel Falcao Colombian striker Falcao suspected of failing to correctly declare €7.4m of income earned from image rights between 2012 and 2013 while at Atletico Madrid. He has since paid €8.2m to Spanish tax authorities, a sum that includes interest on the original amount.
Jorge Mendes Portuguese super-agent put under official investigation last month by Spanish court investigating alleged tax evasion by Falcao, a client of his. He defended himself, telling closed-door hearing he "never" advised players in tax matters.
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Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.