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
Who are Israel's hilltop youth? The suspects arrested for the murder of the Dawabsha family members belong to the extremist hilltop youth, who dream of rebuilding the Kingdom of Judea and consider the Israeli state their enemy. Palestine
Iraq's war of flags A struggle over flags has emerged in Iraq, where the various forces fighting the Islamic State seek to promote their own identities and are desecrating the symbols of rival groups. Iraq
Will Palestinians take advantage of EU decision to label settlement products? Palestinians are seeking to achieve economic gains from the EU decision to label products from settlements, by increasing their exports to EU markets. Palestine
Why some Syrian refugees see marriage as the only option An increasing number of female Syrian refugees in Egypt are being pushed into marriage to survive harsh conditions. Egypt
Rouhani ups election ante Beyond a second term, President Hassan Rouhani is seemingly setting his sights on another key Iranian state institution — the Assembly of Experts. Iran
How Tunisia’s moderate imams are seeking to reclaim Islam from extremists Tunisia is taking important steps to counter jihadism, but must also address the underlying causes of extremism. Tunisia
Will Israel build island next to Gaza? Minister of Transportation and Intelligence Affairs Yisrael Katz claims that Israel must consider blocking West Bank areas where terror attacks have taken place. Palestine
Did Erdogan threaten Iran? Spokesman for the Hassan Rouhani administration denies that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan "threatened" Iran regarding negative media coverage. Turkey
Why is Turkey stirring the Iraqi cauldron? The wisdom and real motives of Turkey dispatching troops to northern Iraq is a topic of hot debate. Iraq
Ankara falls into Moscow's trap Ankara is now being compelled to backtrack on its Syria policy in the face of Russian threats and sanctions, while the United States stands as one of the prime beneficiaries of the crisis. Syria
Why hasn't Abbas called for a meeting of the Palestinian Legislative Council? Some Palestinians wonder why President Abbas refuses to convene the Palestinian Legislative Council; others wonder why he would bother, since he has assumed executive, legislative and judicial power in the West Bank. Palestine
What took Israel so long to arrest Douma murder suspects? After four months of investigation, suspects in the murder of the Dawabsha family were apprehended — but will they be convicted? Palestine
