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
Focused on Iran, Bibi ignores Israel's economic crisis Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke eloquently to Congress about Iran and the reception he received was warm, but now he has to win the support of an Israeli electorate struggling financially and increasingly alienated from him. Israel
The female 'rock stars' of terror Women such as Saja al-Dulaimi and Joumana Hmayed are often used for smuggling messages, money and arms by extremist groups in addition to suicide bombing operations. Lebanon
US still considering no-fly zone for Syria Two top US officials differ about the prospects for identifying, training and equipping a new moderate Syrian force to oppose the group that calls itself the Islamic State. Syria
Iran's female MPs show mixed record Iran's female members of parliament have been few in number but have had a large impact on national policies. Iran
Two women shape Israel's politics Young female Knesset members Ayelet Shaked from HaBayit HaYehudi and Stav Shaffir from the Labor Party have both gained top spots on their respective slates, ready to reshape Israeli politics. Israel
Congress races to act on Iran after Bibi's speech The Senate is to take up a bill demanding a say on the nuclear deal next week. Iran
Iran paper sees conspiracy in Netanyahu speech While reactions have been mixed in Iranian newspapers, hard-line Kayhan believes that Netanyahu and Obama are actually deceiving the Iranian negotiators. Iran
Erdogan tests waters in Riyadh Diplomats argue that Erdogan’s Saudi Arabia visit is an attempt to regain some of the regional clout Turkey has lost in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia
10 Middle East artists to watch Many female artists in the Middle East and North Africa are redefining their mediums. Bahrain
Cyprus port deal gives Russian navy alternative to Tartus An agreement allowing the Russian navy access to ports in Cyprus sends a message to the EU and gives Moscow an alternative to its facility at Tartus, Syria. Syria
Will US-Israel rift benefit Palestinians? The Palestinians hope that the growing rift between the Obama administration and the Netanyahu government will signal to Europeans and others that the United States might be less forceful in diplomatically defending Israel. Palestine
Beirut re-brushed Despite Lebanon's political and security challenges, Beirut is witnessing an upsurge in the art scene with established and new museums exhibiting Arab artworks. Lebanon
