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
Israeli Military Service Requirement Discriminates Against Arab Citizens Using military service as a prerequisite for certain jobs and other societal benefits amounts to discrimination against those unable to serve, such as Israel's Arab citizens, writes Jillian Kestler-D'Amours. Israel
Israel Hits Syria, Sends Message to Iran Israel believes that its airstrikes on Damascus are being considered with concern in Iran, writes Ben Caspit. Israel
Iraq's Housing Crisis Worsens Amid High Population Growth According to figures released by Iraq's Ministry of Planning, Iraq witnessed significant population growth in 2012, further exacerbating the country's housing crisis, writes Omar al-Shaher. Iraq
Gaza As Seen Through the Lenses Of Gaza's Cameras The Palestine Photo-Marathon gives Gaza photographers "a chance to show how they see Palestine,” Lena Odgaard reports. Palestine
Iran's Qom: Mystery and Surprise At the Hawza Life in the seminary at Qom, which has produced numerous prominent reformist thinkers, remains mysterious but reveals surprises, writes Ali Mamouri. Iran
Palestinian Non-Violence Subject Of New Graphic Novel Dalia Hatuqa reviews the book based on Julia Bacha’s award-winning documentary about the story of Budrus’ nonviolent protest against the wall. Palestine
Saudi Arabia Clamps Down On Dissent Haytham Mouzahem asks whether recent Saudi actions are tied to efforts to quell sectarian dissent and contain any spillover from either the Shiite-based uprising in Bahrain or the Syrian crisis. Saudi Arabia
Turkish Parliament Faces Deadline On Draft Constitution Cornered by Prime Minister Erdogan's electoral calendar, Cemil Cicek announced a deadline for the Parliamentary Constitution Reconciliation Commission to finalize its work, writes Tulin Daloglu. Turkey
Is Palestinian Media A Special Case? Daoud Kuttab reports on the state of Palestinian media. Palestine
Sanctions May Scuttle Compromise Between Iran and P5+1 Iran must take into account congressional resistance to lifting US sanctions when negotiating about its nuclear program, writes Shahir ShahidSaless. Iran
Is Netanyahu Losing Control of Likud? Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may be presiding over the Likud party's decline, writes Mazal Mualem. Israel
The Future of Subsidy Reforms After Iran’s Presidential Election The next president of Iran is likely to continue the subsidy reforms of the Ahmadinejad government, but with changes in pace and handout distribution, writes Bijan Khajehpour. Iran
