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
Is Peres’ peace legacy turning to ashes? Akiva Eldar and Daoud Kuttab reflect on the legacy of former Israeli president Shimon Peres, who Eldar says offered a "bit of hope" for peace; Al-Monitor credited for breaking news on delisting of Iranian banks. Palestine
How Abbas proved his courage to Israelis Criticism at home did not deter Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas from participating at the funeral of President Shimon Peres and demonstrating his commitment to peace. Palestine
Peres’ secret Marshall Plan for the Middle East Shimon Peres, who died last week, as president worked relentlessly to engage Israel, the Palestinians, the Arab world and global high-tech companies in his Middle East Marshall Plan for turning the region into a peaceful technological powerhouse. Israel
How Netanyahu took advantage of Peres’ funeral When eulogizing late President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu actually praised his own diplomatic vision and persona. Israel
Released Egyptian journalist denies political deal secured his freedom In an interview with Al-Monitor, Amr Badr, an Egyptian journalist who was recently released after being detained in May for allegedly inciting protests over the Red Sea islands controversy, voices his opinion on his case and the state of freedoms in the country. Egypt
US elections 2016: Clinton wins first debate, but does it matter? Here's what happened on the campaign trail the week of Sept. 26. United States
Where does Israeli defense minister fit in fraud scandal? With several senior Yisrael Beitenu officials being investigated for fraud, it's time for the party's head, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, to resign. Israel
How will debate performance impact ratings for Clinton, Trump? With post-debate polls giving Hillary Clinton a slight lead, Donald Trump is under pressure to prepare more, focus more and attack Clinton more in the next debate. United States
How did Ankara's spending on Syrian refugees jump to $25 billion? Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently claimed Turkey spent $25 billion on Syrian refugees, although he had cited $10 billion in February and even the number of refugees did not change. Turkey
RedHackers daunt the Erdogan family The alleged hacking of email accounts belonging to Berat Albayrak, the son-in-law of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, validates deep-rooted suspicions of AKP corruption, media censorship and intricate intra-AKP rivalries. Turkey
Will Gaza soon have its own aquatic city? The Gazan government is seeking to attract more tourists to the Gaza Strip through its new project to build a first-of-its-kind aquatic city and fish park at Gaza’s seaport. Palestine
Palestinians and Peres: A love-hate relationship Palestinians insist that while the late Israeli leader Shimon Peres was an Israeli patriot, he bears major responsibility for the plight that Palestinians find themselves in today. Palestine
