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 Egypt solve its police brutality problem? Infuriated by recurring incidents of police brutality, Egyptians are demanding change. Egypt
Why Turkish women are opting out of the workforce A deeply patriarchal culture, work environments unfavorable to a healthy balance with family life and internalized gender roles keep many women in Turkey uninterested in taking advantage of opportunities to work. Turkey
Will faulty dam leave Mosul in deep water? As maintenance work continues to ensure the structure stays strong, those residing near the Mosul dam live in fear of both flood waters and the terror group. Iraq
Why does Hamas, Fatah reconciliation keep failing? Despite talks, Palestinians expect strategic differences and foreign interference to once more thwart a Fatah-Hamas reconciliation agreement. Qatar
Are Israel's Arabs losing hope for peace? The Pew Research Center found in a survey conducted at the end of 2014 and in early 2015 that Israeli Arabs are much more religious than Jews, while most of those polled share the view that a two-state solution is slipping away. Palestine
Why is Middle Eastern culture missing from Israeli schoolbooks? Many doubt that a renewed effort to include more about Middle Eastern culture in the Israeli educational curriculum will meet with success given the poor results of earlier efforts. Israel
Are Israeli Jews racist? Two surveys published recently find a link between Jewish-Orthodox identity and discriminatory opinions against Israeli-Palestinians. Palestine
Is Egypt doing enough to counter widespread sexual harassment? Although a number of recent developments offer hope to Egyptian women that efforts to combat sexual harassment are working, change is slow. Egypt
Hezbollah responds to GCC decision In a speech following the GCC’s decision to label Hezbollah a terrorist organization, the movement’s leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, intensified his criticism of Saudi Arabia, indicating a readiness to go all the way in the confrontation. Saudi Arabia
Six reasons Iran won’t join war in Yemen Even if Iran considers Yemen as an opportunity to expand its influence, it views averting the crisis there at hand is more important than directly entering it. Saudi Arabia
Rouhani challenges media ban on former president President Hassan Rouhani denies that there is an official media ban on former President Mohammad Khatami, but some Iranian media still abide by it. Iran
Turkey’s Kurdish leader: We will struggle on in parliament ‘till the end’ Turkey’s top Kurdish political leader tells Al-Monitor his party remains committed to a political struggle despite government efforts to crush the party in parliament. Turkey
