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
IDF denies ties between Israel, Jabhat al-Nusra Following growing concerns in the Israeli Druze community over the fate of their Syrian brothers, Israel Defense Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Moti Almoz tells Al-Monitor that Israel does not collaborate with Jabhat al-Nusra. Israel
Does Israel have moral obligation to defend Syrian Druze? In an interview with Al-Monitor, former Deputy Foreign Minister Majallie Whbee expresses concern about his Syrian Druze brothers. Israel
Turkish judiciary halts school firings Turkey’s top administrative court has canceled provisions that laid the ground for the purge of some 8,000 principals in public schools and their replacement with government partisans. Turkey
Can PKK, Turkey’s Hezbollah reconcile? Resurging violence between two old Kurdish adversaries in Turkey’s southeast, the PKK and the Islamist Hezbollah, has generated fears of renewed Kurdish fratricide in the region. Syria
Displaced Iraqis still wait to return home Amid accusations of affiliation with the Islamic State and an uncompleted demining process in the liberated areas, most of Iraq's displaced have yet to return to their cities. Iraq
Maximum wage law has yet to be applied in Egypt The maximum wage law was on of the main demands of the January 25 Revolution to reduce the social differences; however the government has failed to implement the law in light of several complaints and lawsuits. Originals
Egypt death sentences further radicalize MB youths According to some, the death sentences issued against former President Mohammed Morsi and Brotherhood members in Egypt will push youths into joining extremist groups in Sinai. Egypt
Hamas, Israel take baby steps toward truce The conduct of talks between Hamas and Israel about a truce has raised suspicions among Palestinian Authority and Fatah officials that Hamas hopes one day to establish a "State of Gaza," independent of the West Bank. Palestine
Political detente thaws Fatah-Syria relations The longstanding tension between Fatah and Syria seems to be easing on a number of fronts through cooperation between Palestine and the Syrian regime. Palestine
How security in Strait of Hormuz brings US, Iran closer Gulf and international security are closely linked to the security of the Strait of Hormuz, which is currently facing many challenges that require a joint action between all affected countries. Saudi Arabia
After elections, Erdogan’s shadow still looms Given his continuing hold over the AKP, negotiations for a coalition government could be stymied by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan if developments take a turn he does not favor. Turkey
Progress on Yemen slow but not dead The Geneva talks ended without results, but many hold that the real achievement was getting the sides to talk for the first time in months, perhaps allowing the international community to intensify mediation efforts. Saudi Arabia
