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
Unexploded Israeli ordnance creates more danger for Gazans An Israeli ordnance exploded on Aug. 13, killing six people, including an Associated Press journalist, highlighting the serious danger Israel’s war remnants pose to the local population. Palestine
IS threatens Iraq's minority Shabak community Iraq's Shabak minority is in danger, targeted by the Islamic State. Iraq
Bibi faces challengers for prime minister position A fresh change in Israeli politics emerges through five potential prime ministers, proposing challenging visions to the Israeli public, and some already campaigning by their growing criticism on the Gaza war and its handling by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel
In shadow of war, Israel starts to return to normal The fraught mood that characterized Israeli society since the abduction of the three teens and throughout this war seems to be dying down, with Jews returning to the Arab towns and social media interactions becoming more moderate again. Israel
When will the US, Europe wake up to the threat of radical Islam? With the murder of James Foley the West starts understanding the danger of radical Islam, internalized already by Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and even by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Palestine
To stop Hamas, Israel should cut electricity and supplies to Gaza If Israel still wishes to regain its deterrence vis-a-vis Hamas without entering Gaza, it will be left with one option only: shutting off Gaza electricity and closing the crossing points to the 400 daily supply trucks entering the Strip. Palestine
Provocations in Turkey as Kurdish peace process gets serious Turkey’s peace process with the Kurds faces a major test amid explosive incidents apparently aimed at shaking the determination of both the government and the Kurdish side. Turkey
Sales of Israeli goods in West Bank down 50% due to boycott Palestinian businesses are seeing a spike in activity as locals are increasingly searching for Palestinian alternatives to Israeli products. Palestine
No end in sight for Islamic State’s attack on Iraq In addition to targeting Shiites and religious minorities, the Islamic State are also threatening Iraq's Sunnis. Iraq
Sunnis do not believe Abadi is solution to Iraq's crises Members of the local council in Anbar province say that replacing Nouri al-Maliki with Haider al-Abadi will not solve the problems Sunnis have endured under Maliki’s rule. Iraq
Saudi Arabia seeks Yemen reconciliation to subdue Houthis After months of fierce fighting in Omran, the city fell under the control of armed Houthis, while Saudi Arabia was seeking to achieve national reconciliation in Yemen. Saudi Arabia
Anti-Arab sentiment on rise in Turkey Growing protests against Syrian refugees signal changing perceptions toward Arabs in Turkey. Culture & Society
