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
Israeli-Arab pharmacists offer doses of understanding The possibility to study in Jordan has opened the way for Israeli Arabs to become pharmacists and to integrate into the Israeli work market. Israel
AIPAC chooses sides: Picks Bibi over own supporters, US Jews AIPAC and other Jewish organizations have chosen to fight the Iranian nuclear agreement, even though the majority of American Jews support the agreement and despite the growing damage to Israel-US relations. Israel
Despite paying taxes, many Jerusalemites still without basic services The Jerusalemites residing in the areas outside the Israeli West Bank barrier suffer from a lack of basic services, which the Jerusalem municipality is supposed to offer in return for the taxes residents pay. Palestine
Depressed in Istanbul: Why are Turkey's young Islamist men feeling so blue? Senior Islamist pundits have highlighted painful challenges young Islamist men face in Turkey. Turkey
Iran's Basij lash out at nuclear deal While President Rouhani has not faced severe criticism over the nuclear deal from Principlists and even IRGC commanders, some members of the Basij are voicing their opposition Iran
Perpetual neglect jeopardizes Gaza’s archaeological sites Successive governments have failed to attend to Gaza’s heritage, often neglecting it and effacing the country’s archaeological history. Palestine
Critics say Suez Canal project falls short of expectations An extension to the existing Suez Canal is set to be inaugurated Aug. 6, but some experts and civil society members say the project could have done a better job capitalizing on Egypt’s resources. Egypt
Assyrian Christian woman shares story of captivity by Islamic State In this interview with Al-Monitor, a Christian Assyrian woman recounts her experience of being kidnapped by Islamic State militants. Lebanon
Lobbying 2015: Israel collides with White House over Iran America’s historically bipartisan pro-Israel lobby, AIPAC, has launched a $20 million campaign to kill an Iran deal that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly decried as a “bad deal” for Israel. Israel
Lobbying 2015: Palestine seeks to limit fallout from UN push The Palestinians are counting on the Obama administration to rein in congressional anger as they take their campaign for statehood to the United Nations. Palestine
Israel's hair-raising history The Jewish experience involving hair, inundated with symbols from the biblical Samson to the trauma of the Holocaust and including young men's tradition of shaving their heads upon recruitment to the IDF, is now moving toward an Israeli-global trend when it comes to the matter. Israel
Tobacco eats away West Bank agricultural lands Tobacco cultivation is expanding rapidly in the West Bank without regulation, threatening the Palestinian economy and agriculture. Palestine
