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
Four ways US seizure of Iranian assets will impact bilateral ties The US Supreme Court ruling to confiscate $2 billion worth of Iranian assets to compensate American victims of terrorist attacks has several consequences that will impact bilateral ties between the two countries. Iran
Muqtada al-Sadr, the most powerful man in Iraqi politics? Many believe the storming of the Iraqi parliament by pro-Sadr protesters will only destroy the space for political work in a country where armed conflict has long been a way of settling differences. Iraq
Is third intifada on its way to becoming history? What has been described as a third intifada now seems to be declining as Palestinian attacks decrease, though Hamas insists otherwise. Palestine
What happened to billions in US military aid to Egypt? The Obama administration has provided Cairo with $6.5 billion in military aid since 2011 but can't account for all of it, according to a new government report. Egypt
Will Iran skip out on sending pilgrims to hajj in Saudi Arabia? Iranian officials have said that time has run out to make the proper preparations for hajj this year after Saudi officials caused delays. Iran
Iranian hard-liners claim main pressure on Rouhani comes from public Under domestic pressure over the lackluster implementation of the JCPOA, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani must maneuver to execute the remainder of his agenda — if he wishes to stay in office. Iran
Egypt human rights committee head: forced disappearance issue top priority In an interview, the head of Egyptian parliament's human rights committee, Mohamed Anwar al-Sadat, said his group will work to improve Egypt's human rights record. Egypt
After political shake-up, is Turkey heading for economic crisis? By sidelining Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has taken full control of the political reins but ambiguity about his economic policies is creating concerns. Turkey
Baby steps: Lebanon's municipal elections inspire hope Lebanon's parliament members are working on a new law they think will result in legislative elections and a new president. Lebanon
Beware of the failure of Yemen’s central bank The Central Bank of Yemen continues to set new policies to tackle the rising inflation and devaluation of the Yemeni rial, knowing its policies will not be effective as long as there is no political will to stabilize the situation. Saudi Arabia
Gaza farmers dodge bullets to harvest crops Although the truce that ended the 2014 Gaza war is still in force, the Israeli army has recently escalated its actions against farmers in the buffer zone between the Strip and Israel. Palestine
