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 law graduates are overwhelming Iraq's job market As public and private universities in Iraq are graduating significantly more lawyers than in the past, many lawyers cannot find jobs and the quality of the legal sector has declined. Iraq
How Army Day highlighted growing repercussions of Turkey's failed coup The forlorn observance of the traditionally joyous Victory Day in Turkey points to further polarization between conservatives and Kemalist secularists since the failed coup. Turkey
Research: No man’s land in Egypt Rather than being appreciated as a way to advance the nation, research — whether political, academic or scientific — is seen as a threat to national security. Egypt
What is Turkish army really doing in Iraq? It is not clear who will take control if Mosul is liberated from the Islamic State, but Turkey and its allies want nothing more than to prevent the Kurds from declaring a semi-autonomous state in the region. Iraq
Will Turkey be dragged deeper into Syria? US military support for Kurdish forces pulled Turkey into Syria, but the IS factor will now determine whether or not Turkey gets bogged down. Syria
Upcoming hajj pilgrimage again inflames Saudi-Iran tensions Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued his strongest condemnation of Saudi Arabia yet in response to the stampede during last year’s hajj pilgrimage. Saudi Arabia
Controversial cable car project in Jerusalem pushed by Israeli mayor The Israeli mayor of Jerusalem is using an extensive Disney-like cable car project to improve his standing with the Likud Party, while the Palestinians publicly oppose his unilateral action. Palestine
Is Islamic Republic embracing Iran’s ancient past? The Islamic Republic has abandoned previously contentious attitudes toward Iran's cultural heritage, but it has much more work to do to protect sites. Iran
Has Israel's secular majority been abandoned by politicians? While Israel argues over train maintenance on the Sabbath, Yesh Atid head Yair Lapid is not leading the battle against religious coercion but avoiding clashes with the ultra-Orthodox for his personal political interests. Israel
Shiite alliance against Saudis grows tighter As the sectarian conflict intensifies, Shiite forces expand their cooperation against Saudi Arabia while Iraq plays a key role in this regard. Saudi Arabia
Netanyahu unruffled by critical UN envoy report Neither criticism by UN Middle East envoy Nikolay Mladenov over settlement expansion nor a ruling by Israel's own Supreme Court against the construction of illegal outposts have ruffled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's insistence on portraying Israel as the victim of international persecution. Palestine
What it would cost Abbas to reconcile with Dahlan Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is being pressured by a group of Arab states to reconcile with former Fatah member Mohammed Dahlan and by Qatar not to do so. Qatar
