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
How this new Palestinian coalition intends to fight climate change The Palestinian Coalition for Climate Justice was recently formed to address the climate change issue and raise awareness about its repercussions in Palestinian society. Palestine
Why Turkey’s pro-government media likes Trump Despite Trump’s anti-Muslim rhetoric, Turks appear to be supporting him for president of the United States. Turkey
Turkey's brash behavior riles Iraq Iraq worries that Turkey, emboldened by the progress of its Operation Euphrates Shield intervention in northern Syria, might be planning an "Operation Tigris Shield" for Mosul. Iraq
How Peres' funeral highlighted rift among Israeli Arabs Despite a boycott of late President Shimon Peres' funeral by Arab Knesset members, several Arab-Israeli regional council heads and mayors paid a condolence visit to his family, to wide public approval. Israel
Can Israel's becoming more Jewish make it more democratic? Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked's claim that the more Jewish Israel becomes, the more democratic it will be, actually challenges the Zionist idea of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. Israel
Yemen's education system latest victim of ongoing war More than 2,000 schools out of 16,000 across Yemen have been destroyed by Saudi-led Arab coalition airstrikes or by internal fighting. Yemen
Sadrist call to change electoral law could push local elections to 2018 Though all of Iraq's parliamentary blocs acknowledge a need to amend the electoral law, there is less agreement on what direction changes should take and no plans to make it happen. Iraq
Can Iraq reach dam agreement with Turkey to protect marshes? Recent Turkish dam projects, in particular the Ilisu Dam, affect the level of water in Iraq significantly with the marshes drying and the agricultural industry witnessing a significant decline. Iraq
Why Iran’s central bank can’t control money markets The Central Bank of Iran appears powerless to compel thousands of "unlicensed" credit and finance institutions to comply with interest rate caps, leaving much to be desired about its monetary policies. Iran
Iranian commander breaks silence on wartime arms imports A prominent Iranian military figure who served as minister of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps during the Iran-Iraq War has broken the long tradition of silence surrounding Iran's arms imports during its war with Iraq. Iran
Egyptian bill seeks gender equality for adultery An Egyptian parliamentarian is provoking controversy with a bill legislating equal penalties for men and women charged with adultery. Egypt
Capitol Hill raises alarm on coming Mosul onslaught Congress’ human rights panel urged the Obama administration to make Iraqi civilians a priority. Iraq
