La construction de colonies juives illégales devrait monter en flèche avec l'investiture du président Donald Trump. Soutenu par l’Arabie saoudite, le fonds de son gendre Kushner double sa participation dans une entreprise qui finance ces colonies en Cisjordanie.
Affinity Partners is a hedge fund owned by Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law. It benefits from Saudi funding. And he just received approval from Israeli regulators to double his stake in Phoenix Financial Ltd, a company that finances the construction of illegal Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian West Bank.
Bloomberg reported on January 17 that Affinity could buy an additional 4.95% stake in the company, whose stock is currently valued at 37.5 shekels ($10.3).
Bloomberg recalls that since mid-July, when Kushner’s Miami-based company announced the $128.5 million deal to purchase its initial 4.95% stake, the stock price of Phoenix had climbed more than 50% to reach 58.5 shekels per unit.
Kushner presented the operation as a mark of his company’s confidence in Israel’s war-shaken economy. “ Investing in Phoenix in July 2024 was a decision rooted in my belief in Israel’s resilience and the fundamentals of Phoenix’s business “, commented Kushner in a press release sent to Bloomberg. “ Six months later, the increase in the value of our shares reaffirms my belief – both in the strength of Israel and in the growing promise of Phoenix ».
Kushner’s Affinity fund has other investments in Israel, including a stake in the automotive and credit division of S Shlomo Holdings. After leaving the position of senior advisor at the White House that he had held during Trump’s first term, Kushner was able to count on $2 billion in Saudi funding for his investment fund.
Kushner had established a close relationship with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (MbS) while serving in the White House.
Kushner is the son-in-law of US President-elect Donald Trump and served as his top advisor at the White House during his first term. He played a central role in the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and some Arab nations in 2020. Trump is now expected to try to bring Saudi Arabia back into those accords.
-In addition to support from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Kushner raised an additional $1.5 billion from the Qatar Investment Authority and Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based fund manager. Dhabi. This brings its assets under management to $4.6 billion.
Phoenix has financed and insured construction projects in Israeli settlements located in the occupied West Bank and the Syrian Golan Heights. According to the NGO Who ProfitsPhoenix owns an 80% stake in a large shopping center located in an illegal settlement in East Jerusalem, as well as stakes in various companies operating in other settlements.
Phoenix has also helped finance wind and solar projects in illegal Israeli settlements and provided financial services to the municipal councils of several settlements, including the West Bank settlements of Beitar Illit and Oranit.
Kushner’s new investment in Phoenix came days before Trump took office again. Israeli settler leaders celebrated Trump’s election. With his return, they hope to be able to annex the West Bank and significantly expand settlement construction for Israeli Jews in the region.
For its part, the Israeli government is also seeking to expand the construction of Jewish settlements in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights. In December, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government announced it would invest more than $11 million to “encourage population growth” in the Golan, which Israeli forces first occupied in 1967. Just after the Syrian government led by Bashar al-Assad is overthrown by fighters from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a former affiliate of Al-Qaeda, Israel has expanded its illegal occupation in the Golan.
Source originale: The Cradle
Translated from English by GL for Investig’Action
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