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
Is Turkey's military returning to politics? There are many and varied opinions about whether the military plans to intervene in Turkey's politics. Turkey
Will struggle over Jerusalem transform into regional religious war? Israel, the Palestinians and the United States underestimate the emotional impact of the struggle over Jerusalem on Arab public opinion, thus leaving the gate open for it to escalate to a wide-scale conflict. Palestine
Abbas promised a 'bombshell' but instead delivered a dud Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas promised that his UN General Assembly address would include a "bombshell," but eventually only declared that the Palestinian Authority is not committed to the Oslo Accord since Israel isn't either. Palestine
Abbas at UN: Palestinian flag outside, warning flag inside The Palestinian flag has been raised at the United Nations, but the address by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas failed to rally concern about the desperate and volatile current situation. Palestine
Don't underestimate Free Syrian Army The Free Syrian Army is playing a larger, more successful role in the revolution than media coverage reflects. Syria
Death no deterrent for Iraqi Kurds wanting better life in Europe Peshmerga and other residents of Iraqi Kurdistan are fleeing the region because of frustrations with the government, corruption and the declining standard of living. Iraq
Egyptian activists target corruption but should they be focused on political issues? Egyptian youths are focusing their efforts to unveil corruption cases, as a recent study revealed the squandering of about $100 billion per year. Egypt
Lebanon reaps weapons windfall from Congress The tiny state has gone from pariah to partner thanks to the Islamic State. Saudi Arabia
Palestine’s UN envoy: Multilateralism is the way forward In a recent interview Palestinian envoy to the UN Riyad Mansour stipulated that if the Israeli-Arab conflict is not addressed, any plan for peace in the region is futile. Palestine
Tunisian prime minister promises economic, security reforms The head of Tunisia’s government says the country will have a new investment code soon and that despite emergency measures to deal with terrorism, there is no going back to authoritarianism. Tunisia
Iranian hard-line newspaper falls out of Khamenei's favor Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei seems to be breaking ties with the hard-line Kayhan newspaper, long understood to be his mouthpiece. Iran
Imprisoned 'economic basij' pleads case to Rouhani Babak Zanjani, the former "economic basij" imprisoned for allegedly using international sanctions to keep $2 billion from the Oil Ministry, has claimed innocence in a letter to President Hassan Rouhani. Iran
