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 MK recounts his time on Gaza flotilla In an interview with Al-Monitor, Israeli-Arab Knesset member Basel Ghattas says that contrary to claims by right-wing Knesset members, the Marianne flotilla was not an act of violence, but a political one, drawing international attention to Gaza by peaceful means. Palestine
The Islamic State is coming for the Gulf The Islamic State seems to believe its recent suicide attacks against Shiite targets in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia will increase its appeal to Sunnis in the Gulf. Saudi Arabia
Why is Israel turning a blind eye to South Sudan arms sales? Meretz Knesset member Tamar Zandberg accuses Israel of facilitating the sales of weapons to countries at war with an army accused of perpetrating war crimes, such as South Sudan. Israel
The Ponzi scheme that's trapping Israel’s ultra-Orthodox The ultra-Orthodox, often hesitant to approach the police out of fear of their name being tarnished, are being fleeced by their own community members. Israel
Wilayat Sinai fails to cripple Egyptian army Islamic State affiliates in Egypt’s Sinai province, known as Wilayat Sinai and formerly as Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, devised a plan to rattle the Egyptian army, but it seems that their attempts were unsuccessful. Egypt
Iranians look to post-deal economic, political challenges As Iran moves toward a final nuclear deal, the national media is buzzing with the domestic political and economic issues to be addressed the day after. Iran
Is Hamas working with Wilayat Sinai? While Hamas officials deny ties to IS in Sinai, Gaza residents claim that Sinai terrorists were admitted for treatment in Gaza, and Israel argues that Hamas provides weapons to these terror groups. Palestine
Lebanon to poll Christians on choice for president The leaders of Lebanon's main Christian factions have agreed on a proposal by Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun to poll Lebanese Christians on their favored presidential candidate. Lebanon
Egypt clamps down on religious ritual The Egyptian Ministry of Awqaf has imposed a series of strict conditions on religious retreats held in mosques during Ramadan. Egypt
West Bank women look to divorce marital status from IDs Although President Mahmoud Abbas approved the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, Palestinian women still face discrimination concerning their marital status. Palestine
Netanyahu backslides on religious reforms By caving in to ultra-Orthodox demands to cancel religious reforms, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu disregards most of the Israeli public, focusing solely on his political survival. Israel
Bennett, Lapid rush to back IDF officer in West Bank shooting Instead of waiting for the IDF to investigate the conduct of its soldiers, Israeli politicians tend to back them unconditionally, turning each incident into a political issue. Palestine
