As Israeli president arrives in Davos, many Arabs slam WEF ‘bias’

People stand behind a logo of the World Economic Forum during the 54th annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, January 16, 2024. (Reuters)
Short Url
Updated 18 January 2024
Follow

As Israeli president arrives in Davos, many Arabs slam WEF ‘bias’

  • There are ‘double standards in international system,’ Palestinian investment chief tells Arab News at World Economic Forum

DAVOS: Several Arab participants of the World Economic Forum slammed the meeting for its alleged bias towards the Palestinian-Israeli conflict when compared with its response to the Ukraine-Russia war.

A senior Palestinian official told Arab News on Tuesday how the international system has failed the Palestinian people, and that it is nothing new.

Mohammed Mustafa, chairperson of the Palestinian Investment Fund and a former deputy prime minister, was speaking as Israeli President Isaac Herzog arrived in Davos to take part in a “special conversation” with the forum’s founder, Klaus Schwab, and its president, Borge Brende.

In contrast, Mustafa is one of only three high-profile Palestinians invited to Davos; President Mahmoud Abbas is not attending and there are no senior Palestinian diplomats present.

“We always say that there is a double standard in the international system,” Mustafa told Arab News in Davos. “The international system has failed us all the time. It’s nothing new and it just reconfirms it every once in a while.”

Mustafa is joined in Davos by Palestinian business chief Samer C. Khoury and Hisham Shawa, chairman of the Bank of Palestine.

Despite the limited Palestinian presence, Mustafa said: “We are determined to stay the course and to reach our goal. The good news about Davos it that it is an institution. A lot of good people attend … and this is a good opportunity to be able to engage with these people.”

Amal Enan, the chief investment officer at the American University in Cairo and a Young Global Leader, said that while the Gaza issue has been addressed on a global stage at the WEF gathering, she would have hoped to see it addressed more.

She added: "We could have been more vocal as Young Global Leaders as well."

Davos organizers defended the Middle East representation at the forum.

“The serious security and humanitarian situation … will be a key focus of the dialogues this week,” a spokesman said.

“We will be providing a platform for key stakeholders from the region and beyond to share views on how to deescalate and find ways back to diplomacy. Overall, we will have over 50 leaders from the Middle East.”

Mustafa said the world “should not underestimate the size of the humanitarian crisis” in Gaza. More than 350,000 homes had been damaged or destroyed in the territory, he added.

“Even if the war stopped tomorrow, most of these people will not find a place to go back to,” he said. “So before even talking about reconstruction, the question is: how do you deal with the immediate issue of finding a place for these people to live?”

While Mustafa maintained an optimistic approach at the forum, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gave an impassioned address to attendees in which he called for support for his country against Russia and its “predator” president.

In 2022, the WEF did not shy away from expressing staunch support for Ukraine. It banned Russian diplomats, oligarchs and business executives from attending the event and even went so far as to turn the former Russia House on the promenade into a Russia War Crimes House.

Many were taken aback by the forum’s critical stance, as it had long been seen as a neutral platform for dialogue and negotiation between warring parties. In his book “From Rulership to Leadership,” Bahraini author and pundit Khalid Janahi asked questions about this unprecedented positioning, in response to which a WEF official said that Russia had breached international law by invading a sovereign country.

When Janahi reminded the official of the presence of the US and UK in Davos despite their unlawful invasion of Iraq in 2003, he was simply told: “The Arabs did not make any noise then.”

At the International Court of Justice in the Hague, Israel is currently facing charges of genocide for its indiscriminate bombing of Gaza, where more than 20,000 civilians have been killed, most of them women and children.

“The issue is that we (the Gulf region and wider Middle East) are irrelevant here. The only relevant people here are the Palestinians,” Janahi told Arab News.

“And while there are a few panels discussing the conflict, they will be focusing on security in Israel and looking at a terrorist Hamas and the Iran-backed militias. Who is speaking for the women and children being killed?”

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, about 70 percent of the residential buildings and homes in Gaza have been destroyed by the Israeli bombardment. The raids have also damaged churches and mosques, as well as schools, hospitals and other vital healthcare infrastructure.

Of the 36 hospitals in Gaza, only eight are still functioning, at the time of writing, which has created a medical crisis as doctors are forced to perform surgeries in the dark, often without anesthetic.

“Despite its motto, the forum appears to improve the state of the world for some people but definitely not improve it for all people in the world,” Janahi said.


UN seeks $6 billion to ease ‘appalling’ suffering in Sudan

Updated 24 min 48 sec ago
Follow

UN seeks $6 billion to ease ‘appalling’ suffering in Sudan

  • Appeal represents 40 percent increase from 2024 amid tight budgets
  • UN plan is most ambitious globally, aiming to reach 21 mln people

GENEVA: The United Nations said on Monday it is seeking $6 billion for Sudan this year from international donors to help ease suffering in what it called one of the most devastating crises of our times, characterised by mass displacement and growing famine.
The UN appeal represents a rise of more than 40 percent from last year’s for Sudan at a time when aid budgets around the world are under increasing strain, partly due to a pause in funding announced by US President Donald Trump last month that has affected life-saving programs across the globe.
But the UN says the funds are necessary because the impact of the 22-month war between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) — that has already displaced a fifth of its population and stoked severe hunger among around half its population — looks set to worsen.
“Sudan is a humanitarian emergency of shocking proportions,” said UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher ahead of the launch. “Famine is taking hold. An epidemic of sexual violence rages. Children are being killed and injured. The suffering is appalling.”
Famine conditions have been reported in at least five locations in Sudan, including displacement camps in Darfur, the UN statement said, adding that this was set to worsen with continued fighting and the collapse of basic services.
One of the famine-stricken camps was attacked by the RSF last week as the paramilitary group tries to tighten its grip on its Darfur stronghold.
While some aid agencies say they have received waivers from Washington to provide aid in Sudan, uncertainty remains on the extent of coverage for providing famine relief.
The UN plan aims to reach nearly 21 million people within the country, making it the most ambitious humanitarian response so far for 2025, and requires $4.2 billion — the rest being for those displaced by the conflict.


Lebanese president worried Israel may not fully withdraw by Tuesday deadline

Updated 17 February 2025
Follow

Lebanese president worried Israel may not fully withdraw by Tuesday deadline

  • Joseph Aoun: ‘We are afraid that a complete withdrawal will not be achieved tomorrow’
  • Aoun urges sponsors of ceasefire deal to help pressure Israel to withdraw troops by Tuesday deadline

BEIRUT: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Monday voiced concern that Israeli troops may not fully withdraw by a truce deadline the following day, saying the issue of Hezbollah’s weapons was a matter for the Lebanese.

“We are afraid that a complete withdrawal will not be achieved tomorrow,” Aoun said according to a statement from the presidency, adding that “the important thing is to achieve the Israeli withdrawal, and Hezbollah’s weapons come as part of solutions the Lebanese agree on.”

Aoun also urged sponsors of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah to help pressure Israel to withdraw troops by a deadline the following day.

“We are continuing contacts on several levels to push Israel to respect the agreement and to withdraw on the scheduled date, and return the prisoners,” Aoun said, according to a presidency statement.

“The sponsors of the deal should bear their responsibility to assist us,” he added.

A fragile ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group has been in effect since November 27 after more than a year of hostilities including two months of all-out war during which Israel launched ground operations.

Under the deal, Lebanon’s military was to deploy in the south alongside United Nations peacekeepers as the Israeli army withdrew over a 60-day period that was later extended to February 18.

Hezbollah was to pull back north of the Litani River – about 30 kilometers from the border – and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.

A committee involving the United States, France, Lebanon, Israel and UN peacekeepers is tasked with ensuring any ceasefire violations are identified and dealt with.

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem on Sunday said it was the government’s responsibility to ensure the Israeli army fully withdraws by Tuesday’s deadline.

Last week, Lebanon’s parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, said Washington had told him that while Israel would withdraw on February 18, “it will remain in five locations.”

Lebanon has rejected the demand.

On Sunday, Israel said it carried out strikes in Lebanon targeting Hezbollah military sites, as official media reported three raids in the country’s east.

The official National News Agency also said Israeli gunfire killed a woman in the border town of Hula on Sunday as people tried to go home.

On Saturday, Israel said it targeted a senior militant from Hezbollah’s aerial unit, as Lebanese official media reported two dead in an Israeli strike in the south.

Karim Bitar, lecturer in Middle East studies at Sciences-Po university in Paris, said “it appears that there is a tacit if not an explicit US agreement to extend the withdrawal period.”

“The most likely scenario is that Israel would maintain control over four or five hills that basically oversee most of south Lebanon’s villages,” he said.

Ramzi Kaiss from Human Rights Watch said Monday that “Israel’s deliberate demolition of civilian homes and infrastructure” was making it “impossible for many residents to return.”


UN appeals for $6 billion for Sudan crisis aid in 2025

Updated 17 February 2025
Follow

UN appeals for $6 billion for Sudan crisis aid in 2025

  • The aim is to provide assistance to nearly 26 million people this year, UN bodies say
  • Civil war has displaced 12 million people, of whom around 3.5 million have fled the country

GENEVA: The UN appealed Monday for $6 billion to provide desperately-needed aid to people in war-ravaged Sudan and millions of refugees fleeing “appalling” conditions.
The aim is to provide assistance to nearly 26 million people this year, the United Nations’ humanitarian agency OCHA and refugee agency UNHCR said in a joint appeal.
Since April 2023, Sudan has been locked in a brutal conflict between army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who leads the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
The UN agencies said the civil war has displaced 12 million people, of whom around 3.5 million have fled the country.
They stressed that at the same time, nearly two-thirds of Sudan’s population needs emergency aid, as swathes of the country face famine conditions.
“Sudan is a humanitarian emergency of shocking proportions,” UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said in a statement.
“Famine is taking hold. An epidemic of sexual violence rages. Children are being killed and injured. The suffering is appalling.”
Famine conditions have already been reported in at least five locations in Sudan, including in displacement camps in Darfur and in the western Nuba Mountains, the UN statement said.
And “catastrophic hunger is expected to worsen by May when the lean season begins,” it warned.
The UN said it was appealing for $4.2 billion to reach nearly 21 million people inside Sudan with life-saving aid and protection.
Fletcher said the UN plan would provide “a lifeline to millions.”
The United Nations said it would also need $1.8 billion to support 4.8 million people – both Sudanese refugees and their host communities – in the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, South Sudan and Uganda.
“Today, one-third of Sudan’s entire population is displaced,” UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi said in the statement, highlighting that “the consequences of this horrific and senseless conflict spread far beyond Sudan’s borders.”
The UN cautioned that without immediate funding, two-thirds of refugee children would be denied access to primary education, “threatening an entire generation.”
And “up to 4.8 million refugees and host community members will continue to face severe food insecurity, with at least 1.8 million going without food assistance,” it said, warning that “already strained health systems may collapse.”
Last year, humanitarian organizations received $1.8 billion for Sudan – 66 percent of the $2.7 billion requested – and managed to reach more than 15.6 million people across the country.
They also provided life-saving food assistance to over a million people in neighboring countries, as well as medical support to half a million and protection services to over 800,000, the statement said.


Israeli strike on south Lebanon targets Hamas official, Lebanese security sources say

Updated 17 February 2025
Follow

Israeli strike on south Lebanon targets Hamas official, Lebanese security sources say

  • Deepest strike in the country since a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel took effect in late November

BEIRUT: An Israeli strike on a car in Lebanon’s southern port city of Sidon on Monday targeted an official in the Palestinian militant group Hamas, two Lebanese security sources said.
Lebanon’s state news agency said rescuers had extracted one body from the car but did not identify the victim.

An Israeli drone strike is the deepest strike in the country since a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel took effect in late November, Lebanon’s state news agency said.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the attack, which comes a day before the deadline for Israel’s full withdrawal from southern Lebanon under the ceasefire agreement that ended the 14-month war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Footage circulating online showed a car engulfed in flames. The strike occurred near a Lebanese army checkpoint and Sidon’s municipal sports stadium.
The original withdrawal deadline was in late January, but under pressure from Israel, Lebanon agreed to extend it to Feb. 18. It remains unclear whether Israeli troops will complete their withdrawal by Tuesday.
Since the ceasefire, Israel has continued airstrikes in southern and eastern Lebanon, saying it is targeting military sites containing missiles and combat equipment. Israel and Lebanon have exchanged accusations of violating the ceasefire agreement.


Cairo building collapse kills 10: state media

Updated 17 February 2025
Follow

Cairo building collapse kills 10: state media

  • Eyewitnesses told the state-owned outlet that “a gas cylinder explosion” caused the collapse

CAIRO: A building collapse in the Egyptian capital killed 10 people and injured eight more on Monday, with several others believed to be missing under the rubble, state media reported.
Ambulances were dispatched to the scene in the working class neighborhood of Kerdasa, where civil defense teams searched for people thought to be missing under the rubble, according to the Al-Akhbar Al-Youm newspaper.
Eyewitnesses told the state-owned outlet that “a gas cylinder explosion” caused the collapse, and a police investigation was under way.
Building regulations are unevenly enforced in the sprawling metropolis of Cairo, home to over 26 million people.
The city has seen a number of deadly building collapses in recent years, both due to the dilapidated state of some and, at times, failure to comply with building regulations.