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
Bibi's Holocaust comments muddle congressional case against Palestinian 'incitement' Prime Minister Netanyahu accidentally undermines US lawmakers' singular focus on Abbas. Palestine
How Turkey is planning for Assad-led transition in Syria Ankara, still blurry, now agrees to name Bashar al-Assad ‘honorary president’ for six months. Syria
What drove one young Israeli Bedouin man to attack? Bedouin leaders in Israel fear that the attack by a young Bedouin man will stigmatize the whole community and further destabilize Bedouin-Jewish relations. Israel
How will hajj stampede impact Iran-Saudi relations? The implications for Saudi-Iranian relations of the deadly hajj stampede, in which hundreds of Iranians were killed, appear far from over. Saudi Arabia
Secret Abbas-Netanyahu envoy speaks out An Israeli envoy has revealed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed to meet secretly with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Palestine
How the Syrian regime forces are attacking opposition under Russian cover It seems the Syrian regime forces are trying to undermine the opposition’s presence on the Syrian coast, as they attacked the Free Syrian Army’s strongholds under a Russian air cover. Syria
Why does Hamas want third intifada? Hamas appears ready to waive its use of armed violence to allow an intifada to gain momentum and for international recognition against Israel. Palestine
Egypt’s Salafist leader says he's learned from the Muslim Brotherhood's mistakes In an interview with Al-Monitor, the Salafist Call’s deputy chief Yasser Borhami discusses his controversial fatwas and says his party is willing to reopen the human rights dossier in Egypt. Egypt
Can Iraq meet US, Russia halfway? As political forces have called for Russia to intervene in Iraq, as it has in Syria, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has been cautious about what steps to take regarding Russia and the United States. Iraq
Israeli Arabs' red line Talking to Al-Monitor, Israeli Arab Knesset member Zouheir Bahloul argues that Israeli Arabs might hate the prime minister, oppose his policy or identify with enemies of the state, but they won't cross the red line of hurting Israel's security. Palestine
Gazans find money in rubble of destroyed houses Even university graduates have taken on the arduous work of extracting concrete and iron from the rubble of houses destroyed during last year's war in Gaza's stricken economy. Palestine
Tunisia's fragile security While the recent Nobel Peace Prize win for Tunisia's National Dialogue Quartet is cause for celebration, the country's security situation has continued to deteriorate in the years since the Arab Spring. Algeria
