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
Unlicensed cosmetic surgery on rise in Iran As the popularity of cosmetic surgery increases in Iran, low-cost, unlicensed clinics have increased as well. Iran
Why Saudi Arabia is vulnerable to Islamic State After recent Islamic State attacks on Shiite mosques in Saudi Arabia, the kingdom's sectarian vulnerabilities have been further exposed. Saudi Arabia
The West Bank's drug problem Drug trafficking, dealing and consumption have quickly spread in the West Bank, where security is loose. Palestine
Why is AKP losing the Kurds? As Erdogan fatigue intensifies, the AKP’s political, economic and campaign failures have cost them loyal Kurdish support. Turkey
Egyptian antiquities chief: Historic legacy is under attack Mamdouh al-Damaty talks to Al-Monitor about the recent controversy surrounding King Tut's broken beard and reports of a pornographic film being shot in the Giza Pyramid. Egypt
Al-Qaeda theorist calls for infiltrating political systems Abdullah bin Mohammed, an al-Qaeda theorist, believes jihadists need to adopt a new strategy of attaining legitimacy by rebranding themselves and working from within political systems, an idea that might already have taken root in Syria. Iraq
Gaza’s high population strains water supply Gaza authorities are establishing water desalination plants to meet the demands of the increasing population. Palestine
Bank of Palestine ends international money transfers International transfers to charitable organizations in Palestine have been halted on charges of ties with Hamas, affecting the orphans who are reportedly the main beneficiaries. Palestine
Israel's Christian schools demand equality with Jewish schools Christian schools in Israel do not receive the same financial support as their Jewish counterparts, burdening parents with higher tuition costs. Palestine
What does peace mean for Gazans? The current situation in Palestine is similar to what it was before the Oslo Accord, which does not necessarily mean that a new peace agreement might be reached with Israel. Palestine
Persecution of Egypt's Shiites continues Egypt’s Shiites are being discriminated against through a number of means that are causing the religious minority to be further marginalized. Egypt
Netanyahu increasingly exposed to political extortion The precedents of Ministers Gilad Erdan and Zeev Elkin receiving the portfolios they were after encourage Likud central committee members, who seek to weaken Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hold on the party. Israel
