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
Iran media slams domestic critics of nuclear program Domestic critics of Iran's nuclear program have been chastised in a number of conservative Iranian media outlets. Iran
EU decision boosts Russian, UN diplomacy on Syria Russia, the United Nations and Iran lead diplomatic initiative in Syria; Iran and Turkey discuss counterterrorism; al-Qaeda-linked group advances in Syria; Aleppo’s radicalization; Hamas seeks to rebuild ties with Iran. Israel
US, Europe try to preserve Israeli-Palestinian security cooperation While Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas promotes his UN bid, the US and Europe stick to the well-known old formula: Anti-terror cooperation in the region depends on progress on the Palestinian statehood issue. Palestine
Can Israel, Palestine exist in one space? In an interview with Al-Monitor, Dan Goldenblatt, co-CEO of the Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information, presents his vision of two states in one space, arguing that this proposed solution could be accepted by both the Israeli right and the Palestinians. Palestine
Hamas scores diplomatic victory in Europe Senior Hamas officials run a department in Gaza whose sole mission is to have the movement removed from terror lists. Palestine
Critics condemn AKP's tough police overhaul proposals For some, the AKP-drafted internal security legislation is needed to preserve Turkey's public order; for others it is a chaos package that will allow arbitrary action by the state. Turkey
Syrian authorities halt ferries to Turkey It’s become even harder for Syrians to flee the war-ravaged country after Syrian authorities stopped the ferry service between Tartus and the Turkish port city of Mersin. Syria
Jabhat al-Nusra deals Syrian regime major blow in Idlib Jabhat al-Nusra’s seizure of the two camps of al-Hamidiyya and Wadi al-Daif in Idlib province from the Syrian army’s control is an important victory for the al-Qaeda branch, as it continues to consolidate its control over Idlib. Syria
Why won't Hamas label Islamic State as terrorists? Hamas officials say the word “terrorism” is a politicized Western term and there is no international consensus, which is why it won’t label the Islamic State a terrorist group. Palestine
Netanyahu’s electoral strategy: Demonize Europe While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is using the series of European resolutions against Israel to advance his election campaign, his political rivals are silent, aware that the public is mostly interested in its economic hardships. Israel
Tamarod’s arrogance might lead to its division The request by Egypt’s Tamarod movement to form a political party was rejected due to missing information that the movement did not provide, thinking its position in the political scene before June 30 was enough to get its demands met. Egypt
Gaza imposes new taxes Gaza’s Ministry of Finance has imposed new taxes on imported goods without approval from the unity government, drawing criticism from industry and citizens. Palestine
