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
Gaza struggles with shortage of medical supplies As companies struggle to restart production of medicines in Gaza, Palestinians face a pharmaceutical crisis stemming from war, Palestinian political division, Israel's blockade and Egypt's closure of the Rafah crossing. Palestine
Exclusive: Rafsanjani on future of Iran-US ties, Saudi Arabia In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani speaks about the future of Iran-US ties, Tehran's troubled relationship with Riyadh and how to move forward. Saudi Arabia
Egyptians throng theaters despite terror risk The severe security situation in Egypt seems to have had little effect on movie theaters, which have enjoyed high turnout this summer in spite of spiking rates of terror attacks. Egypt
Former Rabin associate says incitement in Israel now worse than lead-up to assassination Shimon Sheves, a close associate of late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, tells Al-Monitor that incitement, hatred and lack of rule of law in Israel nowadays are even worse than in the days before the assassination of Rabin. Israel
Israel's proposed 2016 budget fails to deliver on promised social reforms Israeli Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon promised reforms in banking, cost of living, housing prices and more, but the 2016 budget that he presented to the government carries no extraordinary social vision. Israel
Egyptian fishermen tangled in Egypt-Sudan fray More than a hundred Egyptian fishermen were arrested four months ago by the Sudanese navy, released and then arrested again in what some see as a Sudanese bid to pressure Egypt to release 24 Sudanese nationals. Egypt
Netanyahu's double standards on administrative detention The detention of suspects without indictment or trial, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's proposed solution to Jewish terror, is neither new nor democratic and avoids implementing the most effective solution, two states for two peoples. Palestine
How will Iran ratify the deal? In Tehran, there is intense debate about how the nuclear deal with six world powers should be ratified, with the government and conservatives split about whether to involve parliament. Iran
Turkey riles Kurds over bodies of dead fighters Turkey’s refusal to allow entry to the bodies of Kurdish fighters killed in Syria and Iraq has added to already simmering tensions between Ankara and the Kurds. Iraq
Iranian negotiator discusses talks with Moniz The head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Akbar Salehi, discusses negotiations with his counterpart, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. Iran
Iran-authored Syria plan en route to UN Not much can be done for Syria until major Middle East players agree to put aside their differences and form a united front against the Islamic State — and Iran has a four-step plan for the next phase. Syria
One year later, struggle continues for Yazidis Displacement has left Iraq’s Yazidis with very little, driving some to seek to leave the country and others to despair. Iraq
