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
Will one slip of the tongue cost this Israeli opposition figure the premiership? Opposition party Yesh Atid head Yair Lapid has been carefully managing his campaign — aiming at the prime minister's seat — until making a first strategic mistake that might cost him dearly. Israel
Israel amps up cyberwar on Palestinian Facebook posts To fight the Palestinian attacker 2.0, the IDF and Shin Bet are increasing cyber efforts to detect internet posts by potential assailants. Palestine
How nuclear deal has cooled Iran-US cyberwar Once-threatening cyberattacks between the United States and Iran appear to have slowed since the countries reached a nuclear pact. United States
The downfall of Israel's top tycoon Nochi Dankner's financial empire has been revealed as a house of cards, and now the Israeli tycoon may be on his way to prison. Israel
Lebanon reels under weight of Syrian refugee crisis Lebanon's foreign and labor ministers are extremely worried about the consquences of Lebanon's hosting of Syrian refugees, particularly in light of the June 27 suicide bombings in the Bekaa Valley. Lebanon
Christians in Iraqi Kurdistan complain about land seizure Christians in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq complain of attempts to seize their land, which will push them to emigrate, as happened in Baghdad and other Iraqi provinces. Iraq
Egypt to cultivate digital data from agricultural sector The government hopes “smart cards” for farmers will curtail Egypt’s black market in subsidies. Egypt
Will US, Russia start coordinating against Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria? The United States, increasingly concerned about the threat posed by al-Qaeda’s Syria affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra, is continuing to discuss with Russia a proposal to target Jabhat al-Nusra and IS. Syria
Will IS attacks bring about change in Saudi foreign policy? The three attacks across Saudi Arabia on July 4 revived dark memories of al-Qaeda's campaign of terror in the mid-2000s. Saudi Arabia
What wave of suicide attacks means for Riyadh's anti-terror efforts July 4 saw three consecutive attacks against Saudi Arabia, suggesting an infrastructure of terrorism has developed inside the kingdom that authorities must confront. Saudi Arabia
Iran mourns its greatest filmmaker Even the conservative media outlets that once criticized Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami are now lamenting the loss of a national treasure. Iran
Why Hamas refused to return IDF remains Hamas' release of two Israeli civilians and the remains of two soldiers was never on the table as a condition of the Israeli-Turkish reconciliation agreement. Palestine
