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
Kerry may tap Indyk as peace envoy Diplomatic officials have told Al-Monitor that US secretary of State John Kerry may tap former Clinton Near East envoy Martin Indyk as his Israel-Palestine peace envoy. Palestine
Liberman calls for economic boycott of Israel's Arabs Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman's call for a boycott of the businesses of Arabs who identified with Gaza residents has added fuel to the fire that threatens the delicate relationship between Israel's Arabs and Jews. Israel
Kerry aims for Israel-Palestine peace accord in 9 months US Secretary of State John Kerry has said that both Israel and Palestine have agreed to put all issues necessary to achieve a final status agreement "on the table for negotiation." Palestine
Arsal: The battle that begins a long war The Arsal agreement reached between the Lebanese military and government parties and the militants indicates that the two parties are betting on different factors. Lebanon
Rouhani says 'to hell' with nuclear critics President Hassan Rouhani has lashed out at critics of the nuclear negotiations, calling them "timid and cowardly." Iran
Brahimi on Syria: 'We need to get out of this vicious circle' UN Syria envoy Lakhdar Brahimi has said that there is "no military solution" to the Syrian conflict. Syria
How did 'Teflon Tayyip' win? Recep Tayyip Erdogan owes his outright victory in the presidential polls to the strong bonds of identification he has forged with his electorate. Turkey
Erdogan’s victory unlikely to bring stability for Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan's presidential election victory is unlikely to bring a period of political calm and stability to Turkey in the foreseeable future. Turkey
In Palestine, resistance more popular than negotiations In the aftermath of the Gaza war, with a strengthened Hamas and little hope of change from the Israeli government, the West Bank Palestinian leadership considers either working toward a transitory agreement with Israel or taking the UN route, with the backing of the European Union. Palestine
Turkey’s exports decrease amid regional tension Turkey has suffered unexpected declines in its exports to Iraq, Libya, Egypt, Ukraine and Russia, though Turkish exports to Russia may have more potential following its recent foodstuff import boycott of the United States and European Union. Egypt
Both Israel and Hamas claim victory Both sides, Israel and Hamas, will have to compromise as the Gaza campaign will be declared a draw. Palestine
Kurds prepare for counteroffensive as US strikes IS US airstrikes against the Islamic State (IS) have boosted the morale of Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga forces that are getting ready for a counteroffensive to regain lost territory. Iraq
