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 Palestinian youth joined Ban Ki-moon's UN expert group Al-Monitor spoke with Hussein Murtaja from Gaza City who was selected by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on International Youth Day to be part of the expert advisory team for a study about youth, security and peace. Palestine
Iraqi Parliament approves controversial amnesty law After numerous delays, the Iraqi parliament approved an amnesty law that addresses Sunni and Shiite grievances stemming from post-2003 prosecutions. Iraq
Why cheaper rial could actually help Iran Though the Central Bank of Iran has repeatedly announced imminent plans to unify the country’s dual exchange rates, it appears that conditions may make this goal tenable at last. Iran
Iranian official avoids confirming arrest of nuclear negotiator Iranian negotiator Abbas Araghchi refused to confirm or deny whether a member of the nuclear negotiation team was arrested for spying for a foreign country. Iran
Obstacles could impede Christ biopic's path into Egypt Egyptian film director Ahmed Maher speaks to Al-Monitor on how he is moving ahead with his next film on Jesus Christ's infant years in Egypt. Egypt
'Delegitimization war' heats up between Israel, Palestine Both Israel and the Palestinians are preoccupied by delegitimization campaigns and negative propaganda instead of focusing on dialogue. Palestine
What's Turkey really up to in Syria? Many observers think Turkey's true goal in entering Syria is to prevent the Kurds from dominating northern Syria, not to fight the Islamic State. Syria
Will Turkey's Jarablus win lead to showdown with Kurds? Turkey’s incursion into Jarablus and demands that Kurdish forces retreat have shaken the balance of power in the region. Syria
Turkey is in its own post-9/11 fury Just like the United States after the 9/11 attacks, the Turkish state has a right to defend itself; but now, just like the US government after 9/11, Turkey may be seriously overreacting. Turkey
The original dishdash: Online restaurant access comes to Gaza A Palestinian professor's new online business allows residents of Gaza City to browse menus and order meals for delivery from various restaurants, the first service of its kind in the Gaza Strip. Palestine
Why Iran isn't rattled by Turkey-Russia turnabout Post-coup Turkey raced to patch up ties with Russia, but Iran does not seem concerned that the rapprochement will be at its expense. Syria
New Palestinian initiative outlines Fatah-Hamas reconciliation The High Follow-Up Committee for Arab citizens of Israel has proposed a new initiative to achieve reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas, which includes the formation of a unity government and the holding of parliamentary and presidential elections. Palestine
