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
Why OPEC still can’t get Iran to cut oil production Despite the agreement in principle on output cuts at its September meeting in Algeria, OPEC still has a long way to go in getting Iran to stop its drive to regain market share. Saudi Arabia
Hariri reverses political slide by backing Aoun presidency Saad Hariri’s success as prime minister will depend on new compact with Michel Aoun and Hezbollah, less so on Saudi Arabia; Al-Monitor breaks news of Russian draft plan for Syrian Kurdish autonomy; United States seeks ground force to isolate Raqqa. Saudi Arabia
Execution of Saudi prisoners widens gap between Baghdad, Riyadh Iraq has executed three Saudi prisoners and nine others are on death row, raising the objections of Saudi Arabia that wants Baghdad to transfer the prisoners to the kingdom. Saudi Arabia
New initiative helps Egyptians fight back against sexual harassment The Aman Initiative, launched in September, aims to educate Egyptians about sexual harassment, encourage women to report assault and train women to defend themselves in threatening situations. Egypt
Clinton and Trump going all in as Election Day nears With less than 10 days until Election Day, both major party nominees are campaigning hard in battleground states. United States
Will populists sideline liberals in Israel's Likud? Three Likud ministers advance equal rights for the Israeli-Arab population, whereas other ministers and many Knesset members opt for a populist, discriminating discourse. Israel
Former political prisoner speaks out on Egypt's jails In regard to treatment of prisoners in Egypt’s jails, political activist and lawyer Mahienour el-Massry tells Al-Monitor, “Things in prison don't go according to the law. Rather, they go according to the practice of the prison commissioner.” Egypt
Deciphering Ankara's Middle East policy A mix of traditional Turkish fears and the Justice and Development Party's political ambitions has come to shape Turkey’s regional policies, especially in Syria and Iraq. Turkey
How Arab women are reshaping Israel's film industry Several films directed by and starring Israeli-Palestinian women have recently won big awards at film festivals, reshaping the local film industry. Israel
New UN secretary-general considers special mission to Palestine New UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will present innovative and proactive ideas for the United Nations to deepen its involvement in advancing the two-state solution. Palestine
Is rapprochement underway between Palestinian rivals Dahlan, Hamas? Palestinians are divided over the motives behind recent coordination between Hamas and dismissed Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan. Palestine
