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
Sinai security stymied by continued terrorist attacks Security forces in Egypt seem to be ineffective in defending the peninsula against terrorist attacks, and may be investing too little in their military defense. Egypt
Turkey awaits Obama’s Armenian statement Former Turkish ambassadors to Washington say there are limits to what Ankara can do if President Barack Obama refers to Armenian massacres as genocide. Turkey
Progress stalled on Russia's pipeline through Turkey The project to pump gas from Russia to Europe via the Black Sea and Turkey has not broken ground despite plans for completion by 2019. Turkey
Bar-Lev: Israel needs diplomatic creativity Ahead of Israel's Memorial Day, Knesset member Omer Bar-Lev explains in an interview with Al-Monitor that the 1973 Yom Kippur War instilled in him the understanding that only a diplomatic solution can bring Israel security and peace. Israel
Gaza’s bookstores struggle With the purchasing power of Gazans on the skids, people are reading less, and some libraries and book shops are barely scraping by and others are closing down. Palestine
IS courts Ninevah tribes in run-up to battle The Islamic State is seeking allies among Iraq's tribes for the battle of Mosul and an opportunity to entrench itself in Iraqi tribal society. Iraq
First delivery of French weapons arrives in Lebanon Nearly 16 months since the announcement of $3 billion in Saudi military aid to Lebanon, the first weapons shipment from France has already disappointed. Saudi Arabia
Saudi elites divided on Yemen war A brief survey of Saudi opinion reveals that many elites consider Operation Decisive Storm a legitimate attempt to halt Iranian expansionism, while some view the intervention in Yemen as a sectarian war. Saudi Arabia
Israelis devastated by each soldier's death Israelis have accepted to a certain degree the fact that they are in constant war, with civilians often paying the price, but find it difficult to come to terms with soldiers being killed. Israel
Iran nuclear talks resume The first Iran nuclear negotiations are due to get underway in Vienna April 22-23 since a framework deal was reached April 2, amid debate in capitals about the provisional accord. US officials say rapid progress was made in the last few months, but two issues still need to be finalized. Iran
Israelis mark Independence, Nakba Day While the initiative to jointly mark both Israeli Independence Day and Nakba Day has been maintained for several years now, it remains confined to a small segment of the public, with the Arab sector feeling increasingly alienated by the Jewish population. Palestine
Iranians protest killing of stray dogs After a video surfaced online showing the killing of stray dogs using cruel methods, Iranians held protests across various cities. Iran
