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
Hard-liners move to keep Iranian voters at home Ahead of Iran’s hotly disputed parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections, hard-liners are seemingly making efforts to lower voter turnout. Iran
Poll predicts big turnout for Iran elections A new poll suggests that voter turnout will be high in today's elections in Iran despite the disqualification of most Reformist candidates. Iran
Iranian officials push for large election turnout With one day left to the elections, Iranian officials asked voters to show up to the ballot box. Iran
Will Putin’s economic attacks bring Erdogan down? The economic warfare declared by Russia damages the Turkish economy beyond expectations. Syria
How some Iranians are mobilizing to get voters off the couch Amid hot contests with Principlist rivals and mass disqualifications of candidates, Iranian Reformists face a boycott campaign and voter apathy ahead of key polls. Iran
Identification of Ankara bomber muddled by faulty communication Debate over the identity of the February suicide bomber in Ankara reveals flaws in authorities' communication. Syria
Is 'Iran-phobia' spreading in Turkey? The former leader of Turkey's main opposition party raises hackles with what his critics say is sectarian rhetoric. Syria
Can Israel twist Facebook's arm? Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan hopes to hold Facebook responsible for incitement against Israelis on its platform, though policing social media is widely understood to be nearly impossible. Palestine
What Israel must understand about Gaza Israel is oblivious to warnings by the United Nations and the IDF intelligence directorate over the ever-desperate situation of Gaza residents. Palestine
10 things Angela Merkel can do to help Israeli-Palestinian conflict German Chancellor Angela Merkel has stated that now is not the time to promote the two-state solution, but certain improvements are possible. Here's how. Palestine
Five years on, predictions by Gadhafi's son come true Following the revolution against Moammar Gadhafi’s regime in 2011, his son, Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, made extensive predictions about Libya’s political, social and economic future — which have been proved right. Libya
Is the two-state solution dead? Palestinians are ringing alarm bells in worry that if the E1 settlements in East Jerusalem materialize, the two-state solution would be eliminated. Palestine
