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
Why boycotting Israel also hurts the Palestinians In an interview with Al-Monitor, President of the Manufacturers Organization of Israel Shraga Brosh says that the BDS movement against settlement products hurts first and foremost Palestinian workers. Palestine
German FM: Iran, Saudi tensions strengthen terrorists Germany's foreign minister encourages Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani to work to reduce Iran-Saudi tensions. Saudi Arabia
Turkish religious scholar says 'masturbation is imperative and necessary' A conference on religious healing, often known as prophetic medicine, held under the auspices of the Turkish premier’s wife, discussed the incorporation of Islamic teachings into the medical field and sexual proclivities. Turkey
Netanyahu's partition of Jerusalem While Israeli conservatives sanctify a united Jerusalem, many of them also support walling off some Palestinian neighborhoods that were annexed in 1967. Palestine
What drives the new, lone-wolf attackers? The lone-wolf attackers are "a new model stemming from total aversion toward the entire Palestinian political establishment as well as deep disappointment with the failure of the previous generation to deliver on its promises." Palestine
Iraqi Kurdistan's brewing crisis In addition to Iraqi Kurdistan's struggle with the Islamic State, now it has to cope with domestic crises that may require intervention by the US and Europe. Iraq
How Turkey is leveraging the Kurds By threatening Syrian Kurds, Turkey is settling accounts with its ally, the United States, and trade partner Russia. Syria
The danger of Iraq's informants Thousands of Iraqis were arrested based on information provided by informants and turned out to be innocent, thus raising questions about Iraq’s judiciary system and human rights policies. Iraq
Gaza's driving schools take students for a ride Schools and instructors with dubious ties to driving examiners are taking financial advantage of students in Gaza. Palestine
Egypt holds its breath for development of underwater museum The project to build an underwater museum in Alexandria has been revived after years of having been stalled. Egypt
As unrest expands, Gaza's women rise up Women are joining the protests against Israeli soldiers on the eastern border of Gaza City. Palestine
Iran's $40 million movie, is anyone watching it? The most costly film in the history of Iran's cinema has been on the silver screen for just over a month, but what do Iranian viewers think of it? Iran
