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
Iranian media praises OPEC deal as victory over Saudi Arabia Iranian media welcomes OPEC's agreement to exempt Iran from cutting output, characterizing it as a victory over Saudi Arabia. Iran
As risk rises, will Turkey persist in quest for al-Bab? The Turkish army, which so far has avoided actively fighting in Syria, now faces increasing danger as it advances to al-Bab. Syria
How Turkey plans to lure more Arab tourists Scrambling to stop the downturn in its vital tourism sector, Turkey plans to build special holiday villages for Arab tourists. Turkey
Sisi's support for Syrian regime threatens to harm Cairo-Riyadh ties Egypt's vote in favor of the French and Russian draft resolutions on Syria at the UN Security Council has created a rift in its ties with Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia
Will Netanyahu’s collective blame sink Israel? Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's collective blame strategy will punish many Israeli Arabs who had no connection to the wildfires and will only aggravate tensions between Jews and Arabs. Palestine
Should IRGC be worried by latest Iran army promotion? The appointment of a new deputy head of the army may represent more than a simple promotion for Ahmad Reza Pourdastan. Iran
Why did Egypt's ElBaradei decide to reveal new info on Morsi's ouster? Former Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi had already been arrested when the meeting between the armed forces and political forces was held on July 3, 2013, according to what former interim Vice President Mohamed ElBaradei has revealed in a series of statements recently. Egypt
Why this Palestinian university is offering Turkish language courses Al-Quds University is the first Palestinian university to offer Turkish language courses to its students, in an effort to promote cooperation between the two countries. Palestine
Has Fatah put Dahlan secession to rest? The extent of Arab and international support for Fatah and Mahmoud Abbas was on display at the movement’s seventh congress. Palestine
Shiite forces advance on Tal Afar in Mosul operation Predominately Shiite Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) have liberated Tal Afar airport to the west of Mosul and now seek to coordinate with Kurdish peshmerga forces on the front. Iraq
What would fall of Aleppo mean for US Syria policy? If the Syrian regime’s campaign to retake eastern Aleppo succeeds, it could have a profound impact on the incoming US administration’s Syria plans. Syria
Is Turkey all talk, or will it split from the West, NATO? Ankara is sending out plenty of signals that it might leave the West and head east toward Russia and China. Turkey
