Biden should prioritize settling the Israel-Palestine conflict
July 18, 2022, 1:47 pm

Biden should prioritize settling the Israel-Palestine conflict

Ian Black

It is not easy of course, but US President Joe Biden should have done more to try and resolve one of the most intractable and divisive conflicts in the world, when he visited both Israel and Palestine last week. It is especially difficult, given these turbulent times, created by Russia’s devastating invasion of Ukraine and the global energy and food crisis that disaster has generated.

Nevertheless Biden could have tried harder. It was his first trip to the Middle East since beginning his term but he has had many over decades and great deal of experience on that challenging front. The Democrat in the Oval Office has met every Israeli prime minister since Golda Meir back in the 1970s, but she is the one he mentions most often. His many speeches about Israel often describe his first visit as a 30-year-old senator. There are slight changes depending on the venue and the audience, but the story always ends with Meir brandishing a map of the region Then he would quote Meir as telling him Israelis have a “secret weapon” – the fact that “we have no place else to go.”

That complexity was apparent from the moment Air Force One landed at Ben-Gurion International Airport last Wednesday: one of the many politicians waiting there to greet him was Binyamin (Bibi) Netanyahu, leader of the opposition Likud, who received a rare and warm handshake from Biden. But that did not save the US President from a blast of criticism from other right-wing politicians, pundits and activists, some of them with ties to Bibi, over his plan to visit the Augusta Victoria hospital in East Jerusalem on Friday without any Israeli officials alongside him.

The US does not recognize Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem back in 1980, but Donald Trump, Biden’s Republican predecessor, moved the US embassy from Tel Aviv to West Jerusalem in 2018, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the creation of the Jewish state in 1948. But he damaged America’s commitment to a just solution for the Palestinians. Washington also recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan briefed correspondents before his arrival that the president will not launch any new initiatives aimed at restarting a peace process between Israel and the Palestinians, but he confirmed that Biden would be meeting the Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas, in Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank. However they each issued separate statements when they met.

In Ramallah Palestinian officials closely monitored Biden’s speech upon landing, in which he briefly mentioned the two-state solution, describing it as “the best way to ensure the future of equal measure of freedom, prosperity, democracy for Israelis and Palestinians alike” adding parenthetically these nine words: “even though I know it’s not in the near-term.” Palestinian minister and member of the PLO Executive Committee, Ahmad Majdalani, responded that Biden’s words are meaningless as long as there are no practical steps to implement the two-state solution on the ground.

That reaction is entirely understandable: apart from a contribution of $100m to six hospitals in East Jerusalem, and additional aid to UNRWA, there was nothing peace-worthy at all. Biden also declared that Palestinians and Israelis “deserve equal measures of freedom, security, prosperity and dignity, and access to health care when you need it, is essential to living a life of dignity for all of us.” His visit to Augusta Victoria was the first by a sitting US president to anywhere in East Jerusalem that is not the Old City and was seen by American officials as likely to please Palestinians. Trump had previously cut $25m from hospital aid after the Palestinian Authority severed ties with his administration over his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Palestinians of course, want more than financially symbolic gestures. The Saudis clearly understand that position. When Biden flew on Friday directly from Ben-Gurion to Jeddah (the first US president to do so), to meet King Salman and the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, their foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, explained that the kingdom would not join the Trump-mediated Abraham Accords of 2019, normalising relations between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan. Instead it would insist on the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

Of course Israel and Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states have converging geopolitical and strategic interests, including confronting Iran in the light of the looming failure of the Vienna nuclear negotiations, and Tehran’s support for Hizbullah and Hamas and the Houthis in Yemen. In addition American mediation helped secure agreement on the removal of US-led peacekeeping forces from the Red Sea Saudi (but formerly Egyptian) islands of Tiran and Sanafir; and Riyadh’s acceptance of direct Israeli flights from Asia using Saudi airspace - incremental steps but not enough to constitute formal normalization.

No-one can simply ignore the Palestinians as they are not going to disappear. “But the Palestinians are being pushed to the back of the queue,” as the liberal Israeli daily Haaretz editorialised on Friday, explaining America’s Middle East policy. “The tab for this sorry error will be picked up by both Palestinians and Israel.”

BY: IAN BLACK

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the company’s headquarters in the Seef District.
During the meeting, shareholders approved all items listed on the agenda, including the ratification of the minutes of the previous AGM held on 26 March 2024. The session reviewed and approved the Board’s Annual Report on the company’s activities and financial performance for the fiscal year ended 31 December 2024, and the shareholders expressed their satisfaction with the company’s operational and financial results during the reporting period.
The meeting also reviewed the Independent External Auditor’s Report on the company’s consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024. Subsequently, the shareholders approved the audited financial statements for the fiscal year. Based on the Board’s recommendation, the shareholders approved the distribution of a cash dividend equivalent to 10% of the paid-up share capital.
Furthermore, the shareholders endorsed the allocation of a total amount of BD 172,500 as remuneration to the members of the Board for the year ended 31 December 2024, subject to prior clearance by related authorities.
The extension of the current composition of the Board was approved, which includes ten members and one CBB observer, for a further six-month term, expiring in September 2025, pending no objection from the CBB.
The meeting reviewed and approved the Corporate Governance Report for 2024, which affirmed the company’s full compliance with the corporate governance directives issued by the CBB and other applicable regulatory frameworks. The AGM absolved the Board Members of liability for any of their actions during the year ending on 31st December 2024, in accordance with the Commercial Companies Law.
In alignment with regulatory requirements, the session approved the reappointment of Ernst & Young (EY) as the company’s External Auditors for the fiscal year 2025, covering both the parent company and its subsidiaries—Sinnad and Bahrain FinTech Bay. The Board was authorised to determine the external auditors’ professional fees, subject to approval from the CBB, and the meeting concluded with a discussion of any additional issues as per Article (207) of the Commercial Companies Law.
Speaking on the company’s performance, Mr. Mohamed Al Bastaki, Chairman BENEFIT , stated: “In terms of the financial results for 2024, I am pleased to say that the year gone by has also been proved to be a success in delivering tangible results. Growth rate for 2024 was 19 per cent. Revenue for the year was BD 17 M (US$ 45.3 Million) and net profit was 2 Million ($ 5.3 Million).

Mr. Al Bastaki also announced that the Board had formally adopted a new three-year strategic roadmap to commence in 2025. The strategy encompasses a phased international expansion, optimisation of internal operations, enhanced revenue diversification, long-term sustainability initiatives, and the advancement of innovation and digital transformation initiatives across all service lines.
“I extend my sincere appreciation to the CBB for its continued support of BENEFIT and its pivotal role in fostering a stable and progressive regulatory environment for the Kingdom’s banking and financial sector—an environment that has significantly reinforced Bahrain’s standing as a leading financial hub in the region,” said Mr. Al Bastaki. “I would also like to thank our partner banks and valued customers for their trust, and our shareholders for their ongoing encouragement. The achievements of 2024 set a strong precedent, and I am confident they will serve as a foundation for yet another successful and impactful year ahead.”
Chief Executive of BENEFIT; Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi commented, “The year 2024 represented another pivotal chapter in BENEFIT ’s evolution. We achieved substantial progress in advancing our digital strategy across multiple sectors, while reinforcing our long-term commitment to the development of Bahrain’s financial services and payments landscape. Throughout the year, we remained firmly aligned with our objective of delivering measurable value to our shareholders, strategic partners, and customers. At the same time, we continued to play an active role in enabling Bahrain’s digital economy by introducing innovative solutions and service enhancements that directly address market needs and future opportunities.”
Mr. AlJanahi affirmed that BENEFIT has successfully developed a robust and well-integrated payment network that connects individuals and businesses across Bahrain, accelerating the adoption of emerging technologies in the banking and financial services sector and reinforcing Bahrain’s position as a growing fintech hub, and added, “Our achievements of the past year reflect a long-term vision to establish a resilient electronic payment infrastructure that supports the Kingdom’s digital economy. Key developments in 2024 included the implementation of central authentication for open banking via BENEFIT Pay”
Mr. AlJanahi concluded by thanking the Board for its strategic direction, the company’s staff for their continued dedication, and the Central Bank of Bahrain, member banks, and shareholders for their valuable partnership and confidence in the company’s long-term vision.