The Takeaway: Would Hamas complicate US plans for reset with Palestinians? Also: the back story on the spat between Israel and Jordan; Gulf post-COVID economic trends; Turkey’s Kurds; Egypt and Somalia; and more! Originals
Egypt sentences activist Sanaa Seif to 18 months in prison Seif, who had been in pretrial detention since June, was convicted Wednesday of spreading false news and misusing social media. Egypt
Ukraine rejects Iran's final report on downed passenger plane The Iranian government said last year's shooting down of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 was the result of a human error. Iran
Palestinians receive first batch of vaccines through COVAX More than 60,000 doses of the AstraZeneca and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines arrived in Ramallah on Wednesday. Palestine
Veteran Labor Knesset Member: Assad is Preferable for Israel Knesset member Binyamin Ben-Eliezer openly says that Israel is better off facing Syria as a state than a shattered country. Israel
Salafists, State Move Closer To Open Conflict in Tunisia While Tunisian security forces managed to suppress a demonstration of the ultraconservative Islamist group Ansar Al-Sharia on Sunday, the organization continues to grow in numbers and power. Originals
Questions Surround Israel's 13-Year Investigation of al-Durrah The Israeli commission investigating the death of Palestinian child Muhammad al-Durrah should have been established in 2000, not last year. Palestine
Gaza Internet Shows Provide Comic Relief Homemade shows via YouTube are proving to be a hit in Gaza, offering a different perspective on life in the Strip. Palestine
Uncertainty Over Electoral Law Prolongs Lebanon Political Crisis The Lebanese parliament remains incapable of putting forth legislation amid prevailing uncertainty about the electoral law and the standing Taif Agreement, which influence the representation of different sects in the government. Lebanon
Palestinian Refugees From Syria Especially Vulnerable Palestinian refugees from Syria often fall outside of the international safety net, which is already strained because of the war. Jordan
Who Owns Turkey’s Mosques? The recent court cases about mosque ownership have raised questions about freedom of religion in Turkey. Turkey
Syrian Cannibalism Video Reminds Iraqis of Zarqawi A video showing a Syrian rebel commander eating the heart of a regime soldier has dealt a blow to the opposition. Iraq
Car Bombings Continue in Iraq While Evidence Remains Scarce While the recent car bombings in Iraq are similar to past attacks, they have raised serious questions about the performance of Iraq's security forces and their methods of gathering evidence. Iraq
Geneva II Is Just a Start for Syria What are the conditions for the success of the Geneva II conference? Lebanon
Report Notes Restrictions On Israeli, Palestinian Journalists A report by the International Press Institute criticizes restrictions on movement for Israeli and Palestinian journalists covering the Arab-Israeli conflict. Palestine
Obama Gets Erdogan On Board To 'Destination Geneva II' In his Washington visit, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was given no choice but to ride US President Barack Obama’s bandwagon to Syria. Syria
