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
Turkish Cypriot presidential candidate brings hope for unity Former Nicosia Mayor Nicosia Mustafa Akinci, if elected president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, could open the way to peace on the divided island. Turkey
Head of Iran’s Basij congratulates Houthis on 'victory' Hard-line Iranian officials and media have stated that Saudi Arabia failed to achieve their objectives in Yemen and have strengthened the Houthi position. Saudi Arabia
How Bibi uses settlements to block Palestinian state Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu believes that Israel is under a constant existential threat and thus perceives those who believe in peace as naive and unrealistic. Palestine
Iran official warns against further strikes in Yemen Iran is lauding its own efforts to achieve the cease-fire that temporarily halted Operation Decisive Storm in Yemen and warns that continued Saudi aggression threatens to block a political solution. Yemen
Syriacs urge Turkey to recognize massacres Turkey’s Syriacs are for the first time holding protests to urge Ankara to acknowledge the massacres of Syriacs in 1915, which proceeded along with the mass killings of Armenians. Turkey
Russia turns to soft power in the Middle East While Russia is most commonly seen as a hard power state, regional developments since the Arab Spring have positioned it as a soft power force. Russia
White House omits 'G-word' The Obama administration speaks obliquely of the “1915 atrocities” that “extinguished” 1.5 million lives — without saying who was responsible for the killing. Turkey
Israel's Gaza-war soul-searching Those in the Arab world who claim that Israel lost many wars mistakenly perceive the democratic process of auto-criticizing and evaluating misjudgments during the war as admission of defeat. Palestine
How the AKP subdues Turkey's universities The new dictum in Turkish universities is not “publish or perish,” as at US universities, but “be pro-AKP or perish.” Turkey
Bedouin honor IDF service, mourn fallen soldiers Bedouin youths continue to demonstrate their commitment to Israel by enlisting, despite growing tensions with Jewish society as the demolition of Bedouin homes continues. Israel
Egyptians confront cyber sexual harassment Sexual harassment in Egypt has moved from the streets to the Internet, as more women and men are being harassed online. Egypt
Jordan focuses on IS fight while Gulf allies pull back Jordan's King Abdullah expresses strong differences from many of his allies on how best to deal with the Islamic State, fighting regional terrorism, developments in Syria and US Middle East policy. Saudi Arabia
