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

Amid slump in oil prices, Iran focuses on mining

Faced with a slump in oil prices, Iran turns to its vast mineral resources.

Confidence crisis hits lagging Turkish economy

Turkey's economy is weakening further amid plummeting investor and consumer confidence.

An image distributed by Islamic State militants on social media on August 25, 2015 purports to show the destruction of a Roman-era temple in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra. Syria's antiquities chief Maamoun Abdulkarim told Reuters the images did appear to show the destruction of the ancient Baal Shamin temple and correlated with descriptions given by residents of the explosion detonated there on Sunday. Five photos were distributed on social media showing explosives being carried inside, being planted a

Turkey major conduit for Syrian 'blood antiquities'

Turkey is a major transit country used by the Islamic State for trafficking looted antiquities, but authorities have not been forthcoming about their seizures.

A Palestinian woman argues with Israeli soldiers after Palestinian farmers said they were stopped by Israeli army and settlers from working in their farm land in Halhul town near Karme Tzur settlement, north of the occupied West Bank city of Hebron September 11, 2015. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma - RTSL6J

Hebron activists challenge IDF narrative on shooting

Hebron residents who documented the incident in which a young Palestinian woman was shot by an IDF soldier in Hebron contradict the IDF's story.

What will it take for US to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks?

Any negotiations over an Israeli unity government must include a demand by the Zionist Camp for a clear path leading to negotiations, based on the 1967 lines, with stringent security measures and at least a qualified acceptance of the Saudi initiative.

Israel looks to respond to stones with bullets

Rather than offering new diplomatic horizons, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has extended the West Bank’s open-fire orders against Palestinian youth throwing stones also to East Jerusalem, thereby separating Jerusalem's two intertwined zones.

Is Al Jazeera Hamas' voice to the outside world?

Hamas has made a habit of giving Al Jazeera exclusive glimpses into its operations, and the news group has been facing criticism for it.

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian speaks during a news conference in Moscow, Russia, September 22, 2015. Amir-Abdollahian said on Tuesday his country had no troops or military advisers in Syria or Yemen, the RIA news agency reported. REUTERS/Maxim Zmeyev - RTX1RTQL

Is Iran deal stopping regional cooperation?

Despite the nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers, it appears that an improvement in Saudi-Iranian relations in the short term is unlikely, if not impossible.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (L) receives Russia's new ambassador to Syria Alexander Kinschaka (C) in Damascus, in this February 9, 2015 handout photo by Syria's national news agency SANA. REUTERS/SANA/Handout via Reuters (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. EDITORIAL U

Russian role in Syria still anyone's guess

It's difficult to tell how involved Russia plans to become in fighting terrorism in the Middle East, let alone how it might approach such an undertaking.

(R-L) Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan walk to attend a ceremony to open the Moscow Grand Mosque in Moscow, Russia, September 23, 2015. The new mosque, which was erected on the site of the city's original mosque built in 1904 and which has been under reconstruction since 2005, will be able to accommodate up to 10,000 people simultaneously, according to local media. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov - RTX1RZOH

Do Erdogan’s post-Moscow visit remarks indicate change in Syria policy?

Following talks with his Russian counterpart, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vaguely hints at a change in Ankara’s position on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Muslim pilgrims walk on roads as they head to cast stones at pillars symbolizing Satan during the annual haj pilgrimage in Mina on the first day of Eid al-Adha, near the holy city of Mecca September 24, 2015. REUTERS/Ahmad Masood - RTX1S609

Khamenei condemns Saudi Arabia for hajj stampede

Iranian officials have blamed Saudi management of the hajj for the stampede that left at least 125 Iranians dead.

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during a ceremony to open the Moscow Grand Mosque in Moscow, Russia, September 23, 2015. The new mosque, which was erected on the site of the city's original mosque built in 1904 and which has been under reconstruction since 2005, will be able to accommodate up to 10,000 people simultaneously, according to local media. REUTERS/Alexei Druzhinin/RIA Novosti/Kremlin ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY A

Putin supports Erdogan in Turkey, but not in Syria

Despite his perceived alignment with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan came back from his trip to Moscow disappointed.