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
Senate hits the brakes on Tunisia aid boost President Barack Obama wants to almost double assistance to Tunisia, but Congress is split. Tunisia
The end of 'Death to America'? Iranian media outlets have largely supported the nuclear deal between Iran and the UN Security Council, with one writer suggesting it is such a turning point in relations with the West that the chant "Death to America" will soon end. Iran
What's delaying gas exploration in Lebanon? Gas exploration in Lebanon has been in limbo for over two years, but with the renewed international efforts, will the file be reopened? Lebanon
Russia views Iran agreement favorably, for now Russia's leaders have greeted the agreement on Iran's nuclear program favorably, although its repercussions down the road might not be welcomed. Russia
Zarif after deal: 'The world has changed' In an interview with Al-Monitor, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif spoke about balcony diplomacy, regional cooperation and why Israel sees the agreement as an "existential threat." Iran
Turkey’s incomes circle the drain The AKP government’s national income projections fall short of targets. Turkey
Netanyahu hopes Iran deal will be steppingstone to Israeli unity government Iranian nuke deal might present an opportunity for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to expand his narrow coalition. Israel
Israel haunted by its mistakes in Gaza Today, Israelis admit that the disengagement from Gaza was a mistake and wonder how the move could have gone had it been done in cooperation with the Palestinians. Palestine
Political arrests threaten to undermine Palestinian reconciliation The recent arrests of Hamas members by the PA’s security apparatus in the West Bank has raised concerns that the Palestinian reconciliation might fail and internal division will prevail again inside the Palestinian territories. Palestine
Syria’s opposition plans to replace Syrian pound with Turkish lira The Syrian opposition forces in rebel-held northern areas hope a change in currency will put pressure on Bashar al-Assad’s regime on the economic level. Syria
Sisi Sinai slam gets Egyptian soccer star a red card Harsh criticism has been leveled against soccer player Ahmed Marghany, who publicly blamed President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for the violence in Sinai, in what some see as a violation of the freedom of expression. Egypt
Netanyahu threatens to 'kill himself' in order to stop Iran deal Israel should be aware that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's continued opposition to the Iranian deal will inevitably hurt US-Israeli security coordination. Israel
