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
Khamenei Shifts Stance: Open To Talks Between Iran, US Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei seems to be finding it increasingly difficult to ignore requests for direct talks between Iran and the US, writes Shahir ShahidSaless. Iran
After 10 Years of Iraqi Conflict, Only Kurds Emerge as Winners The Kurds of Iraq have been one of the few unequivocal winners from the U.S.-led invasion of 2003, with a greater role in politics and a burgeoning economy, writes Abdel Hamid Zebari. Iraq
Iraq Aims to Increase Oil Output The Iraqi government has drawn up plans to increase the country’s oil production capabilities over the next decade, writes Omar al-Shaher. Iraq
Kurdish Politicians Ask Erdogan For Assurances in Talks With PKK Gultan Kisanak, pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) co-chairwoman, asks for legal guarantees to prevent any potential lawsuits for helping the Erdogan government in facilitating talks with jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan. Turkey
Israel Apologizes; Turkey Steps Back Kadri Gursel writes that Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan's acceptance of the Israeli apology, although a positive development, is more important than the actual apology. Israel
Turkish Public Diplomacy Faces Challenge in Yemen Pinar Tremblay examines the impact of Turkey's public-diplomacy efforts in Yemen and whether they should be considered "neo-Ottomanism." Yemen
Despite Boasts, Iraqi Security Fails to Stop al-Qaeda Attacks In light of the recent attack on the Iraqi Ministry of Justice, Mustafa al-Kadhimi argues that the country’s security services have not done enough to stop al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups. Iraq
In Israeli Foreign Policy, Everything Is Connected The apology and the reconciliation with Turkey, writes Akiva Eldar, teaches us that Israel cannot address only one threat and sweep the others under the rug. Palestine
Iraq's Sunni-Shiite Families Fear Renewed Sectarian Violence Iraq’s estimated 2 million mixed Sunni-Shiite families are worried that renewed sectarian violence could have a devastating effect on their daily lives, writes Bushra Al Mudhafar. Iraq
Will Palestine Bid Fayyad Farewell? An ongoing rift between Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and President Mahmoud Abbas has raised questions about Fayyad's future, Daoud Kuttab writes. Palestine
Why Palestinians Continue To Commemorate Land Day March 30 is a reminder that Palestinian citizens of Israel are still enduring oppression and are irrevocably tied to their land, writes Dalia Hatuqa. Palestine
It's Time to Dust Off Arab Peace Initiative According to Nassif Hitti, the Arab Peace Initiative is the most comprehensive initiative in addressing the Arab-Israeli conflict. Lebanon
