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
Obama’s Talking PointsFor Erdogan Henri Barkey considers what President Obama might, and should, say about Syria when he meets Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan in Washington on May 16. Iraq
Tunisia Considers Crackdown On Radical Preachers It remains to be seen whether the Tunisian government’s crackdown on terrorists, including targeting "radical" preachers, will reduce violence in the country, writes Mischa Benoit-Lavelle from Tunisia. Culture & Society
The Future of Egypt's Opposition Egypt must experiment with strategies for exercising legitimate political pressure, with the aim of bringing President Mohammed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood into a more inclusive democratic process, writes Bassem Sabry. Egypt
Israel's Itzik Shmuli: 'Yair Lapid Is Misleading the Public' In view of the new austerity plan, Knesset Member Itzik Shmuli and his followers from the social justice movement are about to take to the streets again in protest, reports Mazal Mualem. Israel
The Kurdish Minority Within the Syrian War Professor Eyal Zisser, expert on Syria, explains to Shlomi Eldar the divisions and discord among the Kurds living where the Syrian, Iraqi and Turkish borders converge, and how this will impact the future of Syria. Iraq
Change in Iran Depends on New Reformers Linked to Conservatives Change in Iran from the presidential elections will depend on new reformers, with links to the conservative movement, and who can pump new energy into the regime, writes Ali Mamouri. Iran
Hope for Syria? Lakhdar Brahimi’s decision to stay on as UN envoy for Syria may offer a glimmer of hope for diplomacy in Syria, writes Clovis Maksoud. Lebanon
Five Reasons the US Should Stay Out Of Syria The first order of business should be a negotiated cease-fire and a transition in Syria that recognizes the role of Iran and other regional parties, not arming the rebels or launching military attacks, writes Seyed Hossein Mousavian. Syria
Nasrallah Threatens Golan Front With Israel Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has announced that the next phase of the Syria war will not be limited to Syria, but will include Lebanon and Israel as well, reports Ali Hashem. Israel
Turkey’s ‘Peace Process’ Is Just Starting The politics of the Turkish-Kurdish peace initiative are just beginning to play out for Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Iraq
Turkey on a Tightrope Between Hamas And Fatah Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s planned visit to Gaza has the potential to complicate both Hamas-Fatah reconciliation and the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, writes Semih Idiz. Palestine
Are PKK Fighters Moving to Syria? Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu claims Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters are withdrawing from Turkey toward Syria to fight against the Assad regime, writes Tulin Daloglu. Syria
