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
Mapping the road to the liberation of Mosul Mosul has become surrounded from the north and east by peshmerga forces, from the west by peshmerga and some Yazidi forces, and from the south in the Qayyarah base. Iraq
Kerry: Critics of Obama administration's Syria policy 'completely screwed up' US secretary of state says the terrorist attack in Nice “could just as well have come from [Jabhat al-] Nusra”; Erdogan refers to coup attempt as a "gift from God" to "cleanse" army. Syria
Why Turkey's coup didn't stand a chance Turkey did not fail its test of democracy on July 15, but what about the inevitable aftershocks? Turkey
What Bibi's Africa visit means for Egypt-Ethiopia dam dispute As Israel increases its influence with African countries, Egyptians are wondering what impact that could have on them, the Renaissance Dam negotiations and the Palestinian solution. Palestine
Misreading of a coup attempt The amateurism of the attempted coup on the night of July 15 raises questions. Turkey
US election 2016: Global chaos upends US election Here's what happened on the campaign trail the week of July 11. United States
How these Egyptian women want to break the taboo over divorce As divorce rates soar in Egypt, a women's magazine is setting up a program in support of Egyptian divorcees, offering them vocational training, counseling and a community of shared experiences. Egypt
Sinai tribal leader says military curfew harms residents, helps terrorists Sheikh Naeem Gabr, the general coordinator for the Tribes of North Sinai Coalition, speaks to Al-Monitor about the impact the protracted battle between the army and extremist groups has had on Sinai residents. Egypt
Will political party emerge out of Iraqi popular protests? So far, it seems that the protest movement led by leftist and young liberal Iraqis has not been able to establish a party or a political movement, which threatens its existence on the Iraqi scene. Iraq
Why Iran shouldn’t get too excited about Brexit Some Iranians believe Brexit will positively affect trade relations between Britain and Iran, but economists warn against expecting significant changes. Iran
Iraqis wary of political role for Popular Mobilization Units Signs indicate that the PMU hopes to assume a political role in Iraq, which has raised concerns among some Iraqis. Iraq
Anatomy of a Turkish assassination fable The scenario of a fictional Tel Hamis Brigades assassinating key Kurdish military leader Bahoz Erdal bombed badly, but revealed that Turkey's intelligence service and special forces are hunting the PKK beyond Turkey's borders. Syria
