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
AKP accused of cooking books before elections Critics are claiming Turkey's ruling party has manipulated financial figures to paint a rosy economic picture ahead of the Nov. 1 snap elections. Turkey
Ankara’s PYD headache There is little Turkey can do at this stage to prevent Kurdish advances in northern Syria as they receive munitions to battle the Islamic State. Syria
At a cost of $500 million each month, Turkey staggers under growing refugee burden Turkey’s spending on refugees has soared by an astonishing $1.5 billion in three months, and that figure doesn't include many other related costs. Syria
What’s so special about Iran’s latest missile? Just days before the nuclear agreement between Tehran and the P5+1 entered the implementation phase, Iran test-fired a new precision-guided ballistic missile. Iran
Despite risk of $62 fine for not voting, less than 20% of Egyptians bothered to show up at polls An overview of the first round of Egyptian parliamentary elections marked with a low turnout. Egypt
Iraqi doctors plagued by threats, extortion Iraqi doctors are living under constant threat of death and kidnapping by tribes and gangs seeking to extort them in what some suspect is a plot to empty the country of its scientific assets. Iraq
Fatah official: Palestinians have nothing to lose In an interview with Al-Monitor, Maj. Gen. Jibril Rajoub said that Israel is responsible for the failure of the Oslo Accord and that the current unrest is a struggle against Israeli violence. Palestine
Syrian Christian militias liberate Hasakah Syrian Christian militia leader Ahiqar Issa talks to Al-Monitor about the reasons why Christians have taken up arms against terrorist groups in Syria. Syria
Palestinians take to the streets to protest discrimination Arab citizens of Israel are joining hands with Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem, holding marches in protest of Israeli discrimination and violence as nervous Israeli forces are careful to avoid inflaming the situation further. Palestine
Will uprising bring Hamas, Fatah closer? The unity shown by the Palestinian people on the ground in their uprising against Israeli practices can be reflected on the political scene; but will Fatah and Hamas take this opportunity to end the division? Palestine
Feeling targeted, ultra-Orthodox take up arms As the wave of violence continues, many ultra-Orthodox Jews are acquiring weapons for self-defense, and the country’s firing ranges and security-guard training courses are reporting a significant uptick in ultra-Orthodox participants. Israel
Israelis, Palestinians head down French path to nowhere Instead of taking advantage of the current crisis to impose significant diplomatic moves on Israel and the Palestinians, France and the United States came up with useless ideas that are only expected to increase the extent of the despair. Palestine
