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
Struggling to keep up, conflict causes major economic setback in Turkey's poorest region After several years of revival, the struggling economy of Turkey’s Kurdish-majority southeastern region faces collapse. Turkey
Soap is slippery business in Nablus Nablus has been historically known for pioneering soap-making in Palestine, but the once-booming industry there is now facing some hurdles. Palestine
Is Israel discriminating against Christian schools? Christian schools in Israel have not started the new school year, claiming that they are discriminated against and receive much smaller budgets than Jewish schools. Israel
After mass rape by the Islamic State, Yazidi women still struggle to break the silence Some of the Yazidi women sold and enslaved by Islamic State militants told Al-Monitor about their horrific experiences, including repeated rapes, but others claimed they were only forced to cook and clean for fear of being stigmatized by their conservative community. Iraq
Is Hezbollah looking to restore its image through the West Bank? In light of allegations about the discovery of Hezbollah-affiliated armed cells in the West Bank, some sources say that Hezbollah might be seeking to regain the popularity it lost when it got involved in the Syrian war by militarily supporting Palestinians in their fight against Israel. Palestine
Christians demonstrate against wall in Beit Jala The fight over land in the predominantly Christian Palestinian town of Beit Jala has been fought on the ground and in the Israeli courts for years, with Christian leaders at the head of Palestinian efforts. Palestine
Congressional debate shifts to implementation of Iran agreement Fans and foes of the deal are already battling over the day after. Congress
US unlikely to take more Syrian refugees While the United States has taken only 1,500 Syrian refugees so far, Americans moved by the drowning death of a Syrian toddler and other scenes of misery among migrants are opening their wallets and contributing more to aid agencies. Iraq
Former Iran deal negotiator slams concessions in nuclear deal Former Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili criticized the concessions the current negotiation team made in the comprehensive nuclear deal. Iran
Erdogan continues to stir the pot in Turkey Erdogan’s suggestion that if the AKP had gotten 400 deputies in the June elections, then the turmoil and violence in the country today would have been avoided, causes outrage and increases tensions. Turkey
How the Islamic State is exploiting Asian unrest to recruit fighters Communication, trust and cooperation among governments and communities are required to prevent the spread of violent extremism and curb the flow of Islamic State recruits from Asia to the Middle East. Turkey
How the Islamic State has helped the Middle East The expansion of the Islamic State has forced regional powers to cooperate and is in fact strengthening state governance in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia
