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
25 years later: Did Kuwait invasion doom Iraq? This week marks the 25th anniversary of the start of the 1990 Kuwait crisis, which played a decisive role in altering the region. Saudi Arabia
Qatar opens doors to help Palestinians escape 'painful reality' of Gaza Qatar and Palestine have been working together to bring a larger number of Palestinians to work in Qatar, where the market is in need of skilled labor. Qatar
Turkey's brides-to-be flock to vintage look The old dowry chests of middle-aged Turkish women are full with precious, handmade embroideries, some of which are now re-emerging and making their way to luxury stores. Turkey
Al-Azhar rethinks primary school teaching to encourage moderation After having reviewed and updated its religious curricula, Al-Azhar is now modernizing the katateeb, its well-known Quranic schools, but many question the institution’s ability to succeed in the endeavor. Egypt
Israel releases Khader Adnan, for now Palestinian Khader Adnan, released from prison after 54 days of hunger strike, tells Al-Monitor that the Israeli press ignored his latest battle, trying to silence his fight against administrative detention. Palestine
Israel slow to rescue captured citizen. Is it because of his race? Israeli politicians were quick to turn the affair of Avera Mengistu's release from Gaza into an issue of government discrimination against the Ethiopian-Israeli community. Israel
Ankara cracks down on IS; but is it too little too late? Turkey has recently moved to counter Islamic State recruitment in the country, but it faces a difficult time reintegrating jihadist returnees from Syria and Iraq, some of whom have been traumatized by their experiences. Iraq
Is the Islamic State really a terrorist group? Turkey's lawyers don't think so Turkish security services have only recently began to consider the Islamic State (IS) as a security threat, but the legal system in Turkey still does not recognize IS as a terrorist organization. Iraq
More planes, more missiles, more warships: Iran increases its military budget by a third Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has commanded that President Hassan Rouhani allocate 5% of Iran's budget to military spending. Iran
Iran deal may be imminent US Secretary of State John Kerry and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius expressed hope Iran and six world powers could finally be closing in on an Iran nuclear accord, but they and Iran’s Mohammad Javad Zarif said there was still some work to do. Iran
Iran-Russia relations after nuclear deal Russian and Iranian relations have been improving, and are expected to continue to improve even after a nuclear deal despite their being energy competitors. Saudi Arabia
The stakes in Vienna Fragile and promising trends in regional security and US-Iran cooperation are already underway as a result of the nuclear negotiations. Saudi Arabia
