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
US shuns tribal leaders who claim to have infiltrated IS A group of tribal sheikhs want to visit Washington to convince US officials to drop Baghdad and give them direct support. Iraq
Why Israelis saw the Gaza war differently The Israeli public reacted to a war that dragged on without a clear victory and showed unprecedented solidarity with the troops without the peace protests present during previous conflicts. Palestine
Israel holds first conference for 'gingers' Israel’s first redhead conference at Kibbutz Gezer (Hebrew for carrot) was a smashing success. Israel
Iranian cleric rules 3G phones un-Islamic Grand Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi declared 3G phones un-Islamic as Iran's minister of communication information technology was summoned before a parliamentary committee on the issue. Originals
Israel gained upper hand in final days of war Israel’s withdrawal of ground forces, and focus on air power, gave it the upper hand in pressuring the Palestinian resistance factions to a truce. Palestine
IS massacre leaves families of victims stunned The families of 1,700 military cadets slaughtered at Camp Speicher on June 11 have received little or no attention from Iraqi authorities. Iraq
Are Turkey's top judges 'assassins'? Turkey’s new president's statements indicate that he is preparing for an assault on the judiciary. Turkey
After Gaza, Israel sees new type of war, diplomacy A changing Middle East reality confronts the Israel Defense Forces with new fighting methods and targets while diplomatic opportunities have emerged with Saudi Arabia and other Arab states. Palestine
Yazidis escape mountains but still face danger Dispersed across camps and unable to return to their homes, Yazidis are disillusioned by the weak Iraqi response to their plight. Iraq
Gaza cease-fire might lead to indirect Egypt involvement After a cease-fire was finally reached, the Palestinian Authority could return to the Gaza Strip where Egypt might be playing an indirect role in the future. Palestine
Looking to Europe, Turkey increases investment in Azeri gas Turkey paid the French company $1.45 billion to increase its share in gas from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz-2 gas field from 9% to 19%. Turkey
Iranian official: employing women 'not a priority' The Iranian government would rather not address the issue of women’s unemployment, instead preferring more women to stay in the home. Iran
