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
Israel's smartest student is an Arab Israeli-Arab Mohammed Zeidan was this year's only student to achieve the highest possible score on Israel's college entrance exam. Israel
Will Israel's new defense minister agree to meet with Abbas? Israeli mayors who met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas say that he is willing to meet with new Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman. Palestine
Iran finds new port partner in India Though Iran has made use of the lifting of nuclear-related sanctions to boost ties with India, deepening trade with New Delhi is only part of its vision for such cooperation. Iran
What to expect from this week's Paris talks on Israeli-Palestinian peace A conference on advancing a two-state solution will convene in Paris June 3, but the United States has expressed ambivalence about the French initiative. Palestine
Erdogan kicks off African tour with creative history lesson As Turkey’s relations with the West continue to sour, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is off to try his luck in Africa. Turkey
Khomeini’s grandson says there is more to Islam than hijab In a TV interview, Hassan Khomeini discussed a number of controversial issues such as Islam, the hijab and newcomers to the revolution. Iran
How to ensure success at the Paris peace conference Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and new Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman made some positive remarks this week about the need for a regional arrangement, but the route from words to deeds is a long and uncertain one. Palestine
Is Turkey hiding alien encounters? The number of UFO sightings over Turkey has significantly increased in the past few years, with some Turkish Airlines pilots convinced that the bright lights in the Turkish airspace are in fact UFOs. Turkey
Is Ennahda following in AKP footsteps? Similar to the AKP's founders, Tunisia’s Ennahda is now seeking to enter a post-Islamist era. Turkey
Are Hamas, Egypt nearing reconciliation? In an interview with Al-Monitor, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri spoke about the improvements in Hamas-Egyptian ties and other Palestinian issues. Palestine
How one Jerusalem neighborhood has been left to fend for itself The Jerusalem neighborhood Kufr Aqab has become no-man’s-land, as Israelis who have sovereignty do not provide services to its residents and the Palestinian Authority is not allowed to enter the area. Palestine
New project enlists Egyptian men to help fight violence against women A Cairo organization is working to recruit male allies in the battle to prevent sexual harassment and other forms of violence against women. Egypt
