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
Iranian rapper drops bomb with pro-nuke video An underground Iranian rapper who had previously been in trouble with the law sparks an online backlash after making a pro-government video. Iran
Zarif's domestic popularity soars with nuclear deal The popularity of Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has peaked on social and Reformist traditional media with the announcement of the nuclear deal. Iran
Prisoner scores small victory in struggle for Alevi rights in Turkey An Alevi religious figure was for the first time allowed to pay a counseling visit to an Alevi prisoner in Turkey. Turkey
Republicans come out swinging against Iran deal Republican lawmakers are vowing to derail the Iran deal, declaring their opposition before the ink is dry. Iran
Nuke deal chance for 'new chapter' with Iran The signing of a deal after three weeks of final negotiations has diplomats hailing a "win-win" solution. Iran
Yemenis fall victim to protection rackets in Egypt Yemenis who sought safe haven in Egypt are being robbed and threatened by gangs. Yemen
Gul calls out Erdogan at iftar Abdullah Gul, Turkey's former president and co-founder of the Justice and Development Party, calls for an urgent revision of Ankara’s foreign policy. Turkey
Israeli beer company to consumers: 'Be thankful you're a man, and have yourself a drink' Organizations for gender equality call for the boycott of Israeli companies that feature chauvinist ads and commercials, but the public uproar actually generates interest in these products and ultimately increases their sales. Israel
The Coalition’s quagmire with Syrian Kurds A deeper look into local dynamics challenges the narrative that the Kurdish People’s Protection Units is the only reliable and effective ground force against the Islamic State, and raises concerns about strategic end-states. Syria
Three-year IDF cooling-off period targets Netanyahu's rivals Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is blocking attempts to shorten the three-year wait required of former defense officials before entering politics so that none of them will threaten his rule. Israel
Iraq’s banks refuse to ante up amid liquidity shortage Private banks in Iraq are facing a liquidity crisis that has led to limiting allowed withdrawals, much to the dissatisfaction of citizens. Iraq
Hamas aims to repeat past successes with prisoner exchange deal Hamas is making use of lessons learned in current negotiations for another prisoner exchange deal. Palestine
