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
‘Cyrus the Great’ enters Iranian politics The unexpectedly large gathering of devotees of Cyrus the Great in his resting place of Pasargadae on Oct. 28 sparks heated debate in Iran. Iran
Can battle over public broadcasting bring down Netanyahu? Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is now fighting against the establishment of a new public broadcasting corporation, an entity he himself initiated. Israel
Abadi says 'we are ready' if Turkey wants war As Turkey's behavior grows more erratic and aggressive by the day, the United States is scrambling to head off a dust-up among its anti-Islamic State coalition partners. Iraq
Could megaprojects spell mega trouble for Turkey's economy? Giant infrastructure projects launched by the Turkish government have raised the specter of potentially unpredictable burdens on public finances amid little transparency on loan and demand guarantees provided to private contractors. Turkey
Why Netanyahu and Liberman are boycotting Arab party members Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman have called upon the coalition to boycott parliamentary activities of the Joint List for missing the funeral of former President Shimon Peres, even if they themselves were the late president's bitter rivals. Israel
What's really behind Iraq's new alcohol ban? The Iraqi parliament's ban on the production, import and sale of alcoholic beverages of all kinds has raised a broad protest among religious minorities, individuals and civil societies. Iraq
Will Islamic Jihad reconciliation initiative unite Palestinians? Most Palestinian factions have accepted the initiative launched by Ramadan Shalah, the secretary-general of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, but will this initiative remain mere ink on paper? Palestine
New generation of jihadis poised to replace IS in Iraq Though the Islamic State is being chased out of Iraq, its disappearance will only herald an upsurge in new militant groups until the conditions that gave it a foothold are a thing of the past. Iraq
Creeping offensives, truces spread tensions in south Syrian rebel ranks Syria's Southern Front forces, which face threats from the Islamic State and the government from various directions, have so far managed to hold their ground in the Daraa area despite government offensives and truces that pressure local communities into agreements with the Assad government. Syria
Arabs seek new partnership with next US president A new poll shows widespread distrust but reliance on the United States. Saudi Arabia
Will first-ever primaries shake up Israel’s ultra-Orthodox? For the first time since the establishment of Israel, an ultra-Orthodox party will hold primaries to determine its list for the next election instead of relying on rabbis to name them. Israel
Christian minority in Iraq seeks autonomy in post-Mosul Iraq What do Iraqi Christians expect from the post-Islamic State era? Iraq
