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
The new generation of Israeli election campaign clips The advent of social media has changed the face of election campaigning, with productions in TV studios giving way to video clips, delivering their message in the absence of regulation or supervision. Israel
Iran talks reach turning point US officials claim progress has been made as movement is reported on key issues. Iran
Kurdish journalists use IS media strategy to their advantage Kurdish journalists are trying to counter Islamic State propaganda by showing the world the horrors that the group has committed. Iraq
Ankara averts pre-election crisis over tomb in Syria Turkey’s evacuation of the Tomb of Suleiman Shah in Syria was meant to remove the risk of an Islamic State attack that would have cost the government dearly in upcoming general elections. Turkey
Saudi women react to new king Saudi women are unsure whether the new King Salman will reverse the limited gains in women's rights made under King Abdullah. Saudi Arabia
Rafsanjani: Saudi-Iran cooperation can fix regional issues Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani has said that cooperation between Iran and Saudi Arabia can resolve some issues, but conceded that there are still many differences at the moment. Saudi Arabia
Turkish military mission becomes media circus Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party framed its cross-border mission to evacuate the Tomb of Suleiman Shah as a victory for the nation, but political opposition and social media commenters saw much to mock about the operation. Syria
Was Hezbollah's Mughniyeh an unintended target? A security source from Beirut tells Al-Monitor how the perpetrators of the 2008 assassination of Hezbollah's military commander might not have known they were targeting the elusive Imad Mughniyeh. Palestine
Turkey’s 'Rocker Imam' inspires Turks Turkey’s "Rocker Imam" Ahmet Muhsin Tuzer, who combines Sufi lyrics with guitar solos, signals the niche in Turkish society for a more modern and cosmopolitan feeling of Islam. Turkey
Why scandals are good for Netanyahu Despite the growing economic crisis and the diplomatic stalemate, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has so far managed to focus the electoral agenda on himself and on the Iran issue. Israel
Netanyahu has no 'smoking gun' on Iran With his speech to Congress, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hopes to breathe new life into the "Iranian existential threat" to improve his chances of being re-elected as the one person who can stop the Iranians. Israel
Academics call on Israel to 'choose Europe' A new document by Israeli experts on the European Union calls upon Israel's next government not to distance itself from Europe, but to seek special relations with the world's largest commercial bloc. Israel
