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
Iranian analyst questions policy toward Israel In a debate about the Lausanne nuclear framework, an Iranian professor questioned the cost Iran has paid for its nuclear program and the country's destructive policy toward Israel. Iran
Egyptian activist accuses Sisi of following in Mubarak’s footsteps Human rights activist and lawyer Khalid Ali tells Al-Monitor that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s regime is bowing to the conditions of global financial institutions to shore up his own position. Egypt
How Nespresso and a whiteboard sealed the Iran deal An inside look at the marathon negotiations between the P5+1 and Iran that led to the provisional nuclear accord. Iran
Building on Iran deal to stem nuclear proliferation Nonproliferation experts hope that an Iran agreement won’t encourage other countries to seek the nuclear fuel cycle and that a decade or more of restrictions on Iran’s program can be used to promote other measures to stem the spread of dangerous technologies and materials. Iran
What was behind the ethnic cleansing of Armenians? If Turkish society would develop a more emphatic view of the ethnic cleansing of Armenians, this will happen not due to any foreign pressure, but rather due to some honest self-criticism based on authentic values — such as those presented by Islam. Turkey
Smuggled Palestinian prison literature gains outside audience Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons go to great lengths to pass on their artistic work to the outside, with some prisoners' work gaining widespread attention. Palestine
Divorce in Gaza comes at steep price In Gaza, a woman can opt to divorce by khula, whereby she financially compensates the husband. Palestine
Yemen war fuels Iraqi sectarianism Operation Decisive Storm has stirred different positions within the Iraqi religious and political circles, be they Sunnis or Shiites. Legacy: Gulf
Yazidis wary amid stalled Sinjar offensive Peshmerga forces near the front line in Sinjar await KRG President Massoud Barzani's orders to advance on the Islamic State. Iraq
Israel literature prize stirs debate over Mizrahi discrimination The announcement that Erez Biton was to be awarded the Israel Prize for Literature and Poetry generated a debate over his Mizrahi (Sephardic) origins rather than his poetry. Israel
Israeli penalties threaten security cooperation with PA Some senior Palestinian Authority officials are calling to cut off security cooperation with Israel in response to punitive measures such as deducting debts from the recently unfrozen tax revenues. Palestine
Gazans' unpaid salaries cause rise in social tensions The continuing Gaza government employee salary crisis is causing increased social issues for those affected, with debts accumulating fast and heads of households suffering socially. Palestine
