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
Time for Israeli left to reassess after election failure The Israeli left blames periphery voters for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's victory, instead of admitting that it was the Zionist Camp leadership that failed to attract public support. Israel
Israel's cellphone addiction Studies indicate that Israelis are adepts of cellphones and the WhatsApp application, which enable them to receive constant updates on the security situation and reconnect with family members at any given moment. Israel
Israeli Arabs disappointed by election results Despite the electoral achievement of the Joint List becoming the Knesset's third-largest party, its supporters felt defeated as the the Israeli majority voted for the right. Israel
Unraveling the AKP's 'Mastermind' conspiracy theory Conspiracy theories promoted by the Justice and Development Party only make Turkish society more delusional and irrational. Turkey
Gaza's weight-loss centers Obesity in the Gaza Strip has increased as of late, with many Palestinians in Gaza seeking to shed pounds with the help of weight-loss centers. Palestine
Palestinian focus on isolating Israel, continuing ICC efforts With Palestine joining the International Criminal Court and suspending the security cooperation with Israel, Palestinians hope to isolate the Israeli state internationally and make it pay for its occupation and war crimes. Palestine
Lebanese church struggles to support Iraqi refugees The Chaldean church in Hazmiyeh, Lebanon, is doing all it can to help Iraqi Christian refugees flooding into the country. Iraq
Inside the West Bank's homemade cigarette industry Palestinians increasingly smoke locally produced tobacco at cheap rates, causing a challenging situation for cigarette companies, tobacco growers and the Palestinian government. Palestine
Iran, P5+1 tackle final hurdles to accord While progress has been made, Iran negotiators are looking to resolve differences with the P5+1 on the issues of research and development and lifting of UN Security Council resolutions. Congress
Congress marks 100 years since Armenian genocide Lawmakers introduce resolution ahead of bitter anniversary. Countries
Where is Turkey’s place in strategy against IS? Turkey is absent from the Iraqi leg of the strategy to defeat the Islamic State, and stands no chance of any major role in the Syrian leg, too, as long as it remains obsessed with toppling Assad. Turkey
Does Iran have a 'bridge' to Central Asia? If Iran maintains its policy of not pushing an Islamist agenda on the secular Central Asian countries, there is potential for increased economic and political cooperation. Iran
