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
Hamas struggling with emerging Islamist parties Hamas has allowed some Salafist organizations to openly carry out their activities while trying to shut down others. Palestine
Shiites reel from attack in Saudi province Saudi authorities need to curb hate speech against Shiites and take positive action to help its Shiite community, as well. Saudi Arabia
EU envoys: Iran talks may go beyond June 30 deadline European diplomats said May 26 that progress was slow in drafting a final Iran nuclear accord and predicted talks would go down to the June 30 deadline or beyond. Iran
Israel's realpolitik embraces regional extremes Israeli President Reuven Rivlin warmly eulogized the late Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, perpetuating Israel's approach to its neighbors that is based on common interest and alliances, not moral standards. Saudi Arabia
Morsi death sentence fuels media controversy The death sentence against ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi has sparked a fresh controversy in Turkey, stoking government pressure on already muzzled media outlets. Egypt
Erdogan’s presidential dreams hang by thread With less than a fortnight left to go before the June 7 legislative polls, polls show that the Justice and Development Party's share of the vote will slip from the record 49% that it received in 2011. Turkey
Is Turkey arming radical groups in Syria? A trial of gendarmerie officers and prosecutors in Istanbul is producing embarrassing revelations for the government. Syria
Has Iran already accepted inspections at military sites? Some parliament members claim that Iran has already accepted inspections at its military sites, despite denials by Iran's nuclear negotiators. Iran
Death sentences test fragile Hamas-Egypt ties The Egyptian court’s death sentence ruling against ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, along with some Muslim Brotherhood leaders and Hamas members, has destabilized already fragile relations between Hamas and Cairo. Palestine
Reassessing consequences of occupation in Iraq According to interviews conducted by Al-Monitor, the British and US occupations of Iraq might, arguably, have positive repercussions on the country. Iraq
Egypt names hard-core soccer fans as terror group In an arguably unconstitutional ruling, an Egyptian court has banned the Ultras soccer fan clubs as terrorist organizations. Egypt
Israelis use technology to battle government corruption On the backdrop of the recent exposure of several serious alleged corruption affairs, former minister Michael Eitan argues that social networks and technology are changing public norms and pressuring elected officials to respect the rule of law. Israel
