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
Are tribes in Sinai really unifying against terrorism? Egyptian media are rushing to claim that tribes in Sinai are fighting terrorism, but the news seems to be premature. Egypt
GCC official: Camp David 'exceeded' expectations A senior Arab official says the Gulf Cooperation Council is pleased at US assurances of a “strategic partnership” and calls on Iran to “modify its behavior” toward the region in the wake of a likely nuclear deal. Regional
Iranian dissident praises Rouhani's health care reform Dr. Mehdi Khazali, an Iranian political dissident, says that health care reform is the one place that the Hassan Rouhani administration has made improvements. Iran
Gaza writers lose out as culture becomes afterthought Difficult living conditions and lack of funding or royalties have discouraged Gaza's novelists. Palestine
Lebanon's last synagogue A small community of around 200 Jews remain in Lebanon but feel increasingly isolated. Israel
Palestinian state would solve right of return After 67 years, the best way to deal with the Palestinian refugee issue is to allow Palestinians to have their own independent state. Palestine
Palestinian youths speak out on occupation, corruption Palestinian university students express their despair over a life of humiliation at checkpoints and a lack of credible leadership at home, warning that many of their colleagues are already preparing for an uprising. Palestine
Iran slashes interest rates to boost economy The Iranian leadership will need to make significant political and economic reforms, some of them counterintuitive, to complement interest rate cuts and generate economic momentum. Iran
Herzog's opposition strong, but headstrong Zionist Camp leader Isaac Herzog is confronted with an opposition that is larger, stronger and more complex than it has been for years, but his position as its head could be challenged. Israel
Iraq tries to improve human rights through education Although the Ministry of Education and the Commission on Human Rights in Qadisiyah province are working to introduce human rights principles in schools, the project lacks much-needed support from the state. Iraq
First street protest by Turkey's Armenians Armenians in Turkey are becoming increasingly politicized, as shown in recent protests over the demolition of Armenian orphanage Camp Armen, which housed slain Armenian journalist Hrant Dink. Turkey
Turkey's poverty figures look bad for ruling AKP Turkey’s ruling party, under opposition fire for failing to combat poverty, took a fresh blow in the run-up to elections as official statistics put 22.4% of Turkish households below the poverty line. Turkey
