Anyone caught begging in the UAE will be fined AED5,000 and imprisoned for up to three months, the Public Prosecution has announced.

The UAE sees an increase in the number of beggars on the streets during the holy month of Ramadan, when charity and alms giving is foremost in the minds of the faithful. The law authorities are trying to crack down on beggars as begging is a crime in the UAE.

The Public Prosecution published an awareness video on social media highlighting the crimes of begging and organised begging, and punishments that will be given according to the law.

Punishments will be tougher if a beggar is healthy and has a source of income, has faked an injury or permanent impairment or used any other means to deceive people with the aim of obtaining benefits.

Moreover, those operating professional gangs of beggars or recruiting people from outside the country to work as beggars can face imprisonment of over six months and a minimum fine of AED100,000.

Anyone recruiting people from outside the country for organised begging can be punished with the same penalty, and anyone participating in organised begging can be imprisoned for up to three months and will be fined AED5,000.

The Public Prosecution hopes that its Twitter campaign will help to improve the legal culture and raise public awareness, including the importance of not begging during the Holy Month.

Organised gangs have been found to bring in beggars from countries in Asia, including other Arab nations.

Some beggars pretend to be street vendors plying wares, claiming they had been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Some beg online, to evade police crackdown.

Residents in Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman have raised concerns about being accosted by beggars in residential and commercial areas, as well as at mosques.

Several beggars arrested by the Sharjah Police said they were brought into the UAE last November and instructed to ask for alms for six months. They were promised that they would return to their respective countries after gaining a lot of wealth. The gangs provided visas, air tickets and accommodation in lieu of 80 per cent of their daily earnings, the police said.

On the first day of Ramadan this year, the Dubai Police arrested 12 beggars. Over the last three years, the Dubai Police have arrested 842 beggars, who are mostly of Arab origin.

Instead of giving alms, the public have been encouraged to donate to registered charities and non-profit organisations. Residents can also help the police eradicate the illegal practice by reporting beggars.

The post UAE cracks down on beggars appeared first on The Gulf Indians.

H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, praised the positive role played by the Palestinian community in the UAE’s development drive, and reaffirmed that his country will continue to embrace and unswervingly support the Palestinians and their cause, WAM reported.

Sheikh Abdullah conveyed this via video conference at a meeting organised of the Palestinian community in the UAE on September 1.

He expressed happiness about the success stories of “our Palestinian brothers” in the UAE, which have contributed to “the development and growth achieved by our nation.” He lauded the initiative to establish the Emirati-Palestinian Friendship Club, which he saw as “a significant step reflective of the fraternal bonds between our nations”.

“As the UAE is taking a sovereign decision today for the sake of delivering a peaceful future in the region, I assure you that you’re living in your second homeland. I assure you anew that these unshakable bonds between the UAE and the Palestinians will remain solid and will never change,” Sheikh Abdullah continued. “UAE’s stance will remain supportive of the Arab stand calling for establishing an independent Palestinian State with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

Sheikh Abdullah said that the UAE sees peace-building as a strategic necessity for the region. However, he said, the strategic necessity will not come at the expense of support for the Palestinian cause and the rights of Palestinian people. Sheikh Abdullah concluded that the UAE will continue to be an honest supporter of Palestinian families.”

The participants at the meeting expressed confidence that the pledge taken by late Sheikh Zayed toward Palestine will remain in the safe hands of the UAE people and leadership who they are sure will continue to support the Palestinian rights to their statehood. The Palestinian community in the UAE will remain grateful to the hospitality and solidarity extended by the UAE leadership toward the Palestinians, they noted, and affirmed that the UAE will remain their second homeland.

The post UAE reiterates support for the Palestinian cause appeared first on The Gulf Indians.

Speaking at an event hosted by the US Atlantic Council think tank, Gargash said that “several Arab countries” are on the path of normalizing ties with Israel. The region needs a strategic breakthrough, he said.

“We are committed… as part of the international consensus on the two-state solution, and any embassy will be in Tel Aviv. So that is quite clear,” the minister said during the virtual session with the Atlantic Council Front Page. “The whole idea of suspending annexation, giving space and opportunity for negotiating the two-state solution, you know… it is evident where our embassy will be.”

The US is one of the few countries that has recognised Jerusalem as the Israel’s capital and moved its embassy there in 2017. President Trump at a campaign rally on August 17 said he did it for the evangelicals in the US.

Regarding the UAE’s role in finalising a peace deal between Israel and Palestine, Dr. Gargash said: “We don’t negotiate on behalf of the Palestinians.” He added the final shape of the emergence of the peace deal will be decided by Palestinians and Israelis. “But we all need to urge the Palestinians to engage and negotiate.”

“The UAE saw an opportunity because we’ve always been urged by the Palestinians to help in stopping annexation. By linking (the agreement) to the suspension of annexation, we came out with a good deal.

“This is going to be a warm peace because, unlike Jordan or Egypt, we have not fought a war with Israel,” Gargash said. Israel signed a peace treaty with Egypt in 1979 and with Jordan in 1994.

Calling the UAE a dynamic Arab country that wants to “break a lot of barriers”, Dr. Gargash said that would not be possible with an “exclusivist view of the world through an Arab prism”.

The post UAE’s embassy in Israel to be set up in Tel Aviv appeared first on The Gulf Indians.

The UAE backlash came on August 1 after Turkey spoke of “malicious” actions by the UAE in Libya, where the two countries support opposing sides in its grinding conflict.

“The Sublime Porte and colonialist illusions belong to the archives of history… and relations between states are not conducted with threats,” Gargash wrote.

Earlier, Turkey’s Defence Minister Hulusi Akar had commented in an interview with Qatar’s Al Jazeera that “Abu Dhabi does what it does in Libya, does what it does in Syria. All of it is being recorded. At the right place and time, the accounts will be settled.” Qatar and Turkey are close allies, and Al Jazeera adopts a pro-Turkish line.

In late June Dr. Gargash had participated in an emergency ministerial meeting of the Council of the Arab League to discuss developments related to Libya and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

During the virtual meeting, the ministers had discussed events taking place in Libya and threats to Arab national security, as well as Egypt’s concerns over foreign interference by regional powers and the deployment of mercenaries from northern Syria in Libya. They also discussed proposals for a peaceful settlement, with the latest being the Cairo Initiative.

According to Wam, Gargash had then highlighted the UAE’s keenness to unify Libya and the role of Arab countries in achieving a political solution, stressing the importance of an immediate ceasefire, which will pave the way for a comprehensive political solution and the return of security and stability in Libya. He had also noted that it will end the bloodshed, de-escalate the region, and counter Turkey’s interventions that threaten Arab national security, particularly Egypt’s security.

Gargash had then reiterated the UAE’s position on the Libyan crisis is supported by the international community and will lead to a political solution based on United Nations resolutions and the outcomes of the Berlin Conference. He also called on all Libyan parties to immediately respond to Egypt’s ceasefire initiative, re-build their institutions, restore law and order to combat terrorism, and confront foreign interference.

The post UAE asks Turkey to stop interfering in Arab affairs appeared first on The Gulf Indians.