Originals - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Originals

Palestinian supporters of the Hamas movement wave flags as they rally against Israel's plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, in Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza Strip, on June 19, 2020. - Israel intends to annex West Bank settlements and the Jordan Valley, as proposed by US President Donald Trump, with initial steps slated to begin from July 1. (Photo by MAHMUD HAMS / AFP) (Photo by MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images)

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!

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.

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.

A worker unloads a refrigerated truck carrying the first delivery of coronavirus vaccine via the United Nations Covax programme supporting poorer areas, to be kept at Palestinian Authority's storage facility in the West Bank city of Nablus, on March 17, 2021. - The Palestinian Authority said that vaccination would begin at the end of this week, primarily for those aged over 75, cancer patients and medical personnel.
Earlier, some 60,000 doses of Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines allocated to the Palestinians

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.

Latest News

Tunisian president meets new Libyan unity government

Iran operating new advanced centrifuges, nuclear watchdog finds

A cameraman arrives at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),prior to a press conference at the agency's headquarters in Vienna on March 4, 2021. - European nations will not go ahead with a planned resolution criticising Iran at this week's meeting of the UN nuclear watchdog, diplomatic sources said on March 4, 2021. (Photo by ALEX HALADA / AFP) (Photo by ALEX HALADA/AFP via Getty Images)

Lawsuit filed to close pro-Kurdish party after lawmaker stripped of parliamentary seat

Turkish member of Parliament for the left wing political party Peoples' Democratic Party Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu (C) reacts as he is surrounded by MPs applauding and brandishing placards after he was dismissed following a vote at the Turkish Parliament in Ankara, on March 17, 2021. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Israeli and Emirati rugby teams to play each other for first time

United Arab Emirates

Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, makes remarks during hearings on "Corruption, Global Magnitsky and Modern Slavery - A Review of Human Rights Around the World", on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 16, 2015. Representatives from the State Department and human rights organizations testified on countries like Iraq, Malaysia and Cuba. REUTERS/Mike Theiler - RTX1KL3A

State Department nominees face grilling over Iran deal

Congressional angst over the JCPOA could spell trouble for diplomatic nominations.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (R) and his Syrian counterpart Walid al-Moualem walk before they start a meeting in Tehran August 5, 2015. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem arrived in Tehran on Tuesday for talks with officials from allies Iran and Russia that are expected to focus on efforts to end the civil war in his country. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/TIMA ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT,

Iran enters Syria talks without preconditions

Iranian officials have entered the negotiations to find a political solution to the Syrian civil war though they will not accept conditions for President Bashar al-Assad's removal.

Lightning strikes over a power station during a storm in the city of Ashkelon October 28, 2015. REUTERS/ Amir Cohen TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX1TPK2

Israeli politicians wary of being shocked by electricity union

Even with the mass power breaks following the flash floods this week, Israeli politicians didn't dare confront the mighty electricity labor union.

A worker makes decorative elements from plaster at an outdoor workshop in Cairo, February 26, 2013. Countrywide, the report estimates over 4,500 factories have shut since the revolution, swelling by hundreds of thousands the ranks of unemployed in a nation where two-fifths of the people live on or around the poverty line. The unemployment rate is around 13 percent, according to official data, but private analysts believe the actual rate is much higher. Picture taken February 26, 2013. To match story EGYPT-I

Egypt’s industrial sector struggles with growing Chinese presence

Faced with various economic challenges, the Egyptian government now has to protect its national industry from Chinese goods, which are both cheaper and made to better suit the population’s needs.

Iraqi Kurdish regional President Massoud Barzani (R) shakes hands with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi at Arbil International Airport April 6, 2015. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari - RTR4W82R

Is Abadi key to resolving Kurdish conflict?

As the political divide and violent protests worsen in Iraqi Kurdistan, will Baghdad be able to keep the situation under control through peaceful means?

A family takes a stroll next to a reservoir in Myrtoy that will receive fresh water from Turkey via a water pipeline project linking Turkey to northern Cyprus Oct 17 2015. The 106-kilometre (66-mile) pipeline will transport some 75 million cubic metres (2.6 billion cubic feet) of water annually to northern Cyprus, a breakaway Turkish Cypriot state recognized only by Ankara. Cyprus suffers from frequent droughts. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou - RTS4V5V

Turkey's peace pipe to Cyprus

The water pipeline slated to reunify Cyprus faces strong opposition on environmental, cultural and political fronts from both Greek and Turkish Cypriots.

Gaza's libraries struggle to attract readers

Children in Gaza rarely go to public libraries, a problem observers attribute to a combination of their academic schedules, the blockade and Palestinian society’s lack of emphasis on reading.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to film or take pictures in Tehran.
Food items are placed in trolleys as customers stand in line to pay for their goods at a shopping mall in northwestern Tehran February 3, 2012. With just a month to go before a parliamentary election, Iran has been hit hard in recent months by new U.S. and European economic sanctions over its nuclear programme, which Tehran says is peaceful but the West says is aimed at mak

You won't believe what some Iranians have found in their bottled water

Iran is being plagued by an increasing number of scandals involving violations of food safety standards.

Children sit on bales of hay at the annual harvest festival in Kibbutz Degania Alef on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, northern Israel May 23, 2015. Twenty-five years ago kibbutzim, collective communities traditionally based on agriculture, seemed all but doomed. But the last few years have seen a surprising turnaround, with young families seeking to escape the high cost of living and alienation they find in cities for a cheaper, rural lifestyle in a closely knit community. Picture taken May 23, 2015. REU

Is kibbutz lifestyle sustainable?

Israeli students who grew up in a kibbutz intend to leave their communities in favor of city life and a profitable career.

Will Big Brother be able to bring peace to Temple Mount?

Instead of installing cameras at the Temple Mount compound to discourage security violations, religious leaders should advocate turning the place into a global center of peace and human solidarity.

Supporters of Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu attend an election rally in Istanbul, Turkey, October 25, 2015. Turkey's general election will be held on November 1. REUTERS/Osman Orsal - RTX1T4UY

Congress muted ahead of Turkish elections

The US is largely staying silent ahead of this weekend's controversial snap poll.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry holds a press conference as senior advisor John Kirby (L) looks on following a day of meetings in Vienna, October 23, 2015. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri - RTS5VLA

On eve of Syria peace talks, Saudi Arabia questions Russian, Iranian intentions

The United States welcomed the decision by Iran’s foreign minister to attend international talks on trying to end the Syrian war, while Saudi Arabia remained cautious.