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
Is a witch hunt underway against Turkish intellectuals? Following the arrests of Turkish academics who had signed a petition in support of the Kurds in southeastern Turkey, the country is facing an unprecedented 'civil war.' Turkey
Last man standing from Morsi’s regime provokes corruption scandal There's a commotion in Egypt over government corruption — not whether there is any, but rather how much. Egypt
Turkey's distractions make it vulnerable Many questions still surround the recent suicide bombing in Istanbul, but it nevertheless points up Turkey's limited understanding of IS and the country's need to develop a strategy and assets to deal with terrorism. Syria
Latest spat with Sweden highlights Israeli diplomatic shortcomings Instead of working the diplomatic front and dialoguing with Sweden about the incendiary statement by Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom, reactions from Israel's Foreign Ministry have been uncoordinated and emotional. Israel
22 years after corruption scandal, Deri returns to Israel’s Interior Ministry Supporters of Shas leader Aryeh Deri are celebrating his appointment to once again head the Ministry of Interior, from which he was forced to resign in 1993. Israel
Who are Israel's true friends? The Israeli government tends to label every policy critical of Israel as an anti-Israeli policy. Palestine
Can Egypt’s tourism industry get back on track after Sinai crash? In an interview with Al-Monitor, Egypt's Tourism Minister Hisham Zazou expresses optimism that this vital sector of the country’s economy will recover. Egypt
Iran deal implementation day ‘very, very soon’ Iran said it has taken a key final step to disable its plutonium reactor, making way for implementation of the Iran nuclear deal in the next few days. Iran
Terrorism tops Turkish citizens’ list of concerns in 2015 A recent survey polled Turks and found that they are not united in their perception of the identity of terror suspects in the country. Turkey
Dollar-needy Turkey tightens foreign currency rules Desperate to stop the flight of foreign money, the Turkish government has tightened rules on how cash can be taken out of the country. Turkey
Iran's hard-liners: Just say no to diplomacy While diplomacy helped secure the release of US sailors held by Iran, some hard-liners believe the countries are becoming too close for comfort. Iran
Hagel says Obama 'paralyzed' Syria policy around Assad ouster Former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel says President Barack Obama erred in calling for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to go and declaring a red line over Syria’s use of chemical weapons, and also compared Republican presidential candidates to a "mass gong show" and urged them to be less divisive. Syria
