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
Palestinian Rappers Spark Debate With New Album Janne Louise Andersen talks to the band about the controversy over a song about honor crimes, their new sound and a decade of "hip hop Arabi.” Palestine
Israel Should Embrace Immigrants From Africa Instead of rejecting African immigrants, Israel should integrate them, becoming a multicultural society such as in Europe, writes Shlomi Eldar. Israel
Israeli-Turkish Reconciliation Not a Done Deal Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan's aspirations to become leader of the Sunni Muslim world could hinder rebuilding strategic ties with Israel, argues Ben Caspit. Israel
Facebook Replaces Cafeteria As Hub for Israeli Politicians The Knesset cafeteria, once the place to see and to be seen, is being replaced nowadays by Facebook, writes Mazal Mualem. Israel
No Surprises in Early Results For Iraqi Provincial Elections The results of the latest round of provincial elections in Iraq have failed to defy expectations, with the same political problems persisting, writes Mushreq Abbas. Iraq
Low Turnout in Iraqi Elections As most of Iraq’s provinces headed to the polls, low voter turnout, technical errors and some incidents of violence served as reminders of the issues still plaguing Iraqi society, writes Ali Abel Sadah. Iraq
Egypt Struggles to Reclaim Role In Africa As tensions heat up between Egypt and Ethiopia regarding a major Ethiopian dam on the Nile, Egypt is seeking to reassert itself, writes Abdelrahman Youssef. Egypt
Child-Protection Laws On Table in Iraqi Kurdistan An innovative law protecting the rights of children and the disabled in Iraqi Kurdistan is to be considered by the regional government, reports Abdel Hamid Zebari. Iraq
Syria’s Christians ThreatenedBy Ideology, Geography Attacks against Syria’s Christians are not only motivated by extremist Islamic ideology, but also because of the strategic area in which they live, writes Jean Aziz. Lebanon
Israel: The Politics Behind The Armenian Genocide On the eve of the 98th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, Israel continues denying the event in favor of having better political relations with Turkey, writes Akiva Eldar. Israel
Iraq's Legislative Crisis As political and social divisions deepen throughout Iraqi society, Mustafa al-Kadhimi calls attention to the legislative negligence that has allowed this worrying crisis to grow. Iraq
Battle for Qusair Key Front in Syria War The aim of the battles raging on the Syria-Lebanon border near Qusayr is directly tied to the war in Syria, writes Jean Aziz. Lebanon
