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
Syrian Alawites horrified by rising death toll Most Alawites remain steadfast in their support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but many are quietly horrified at the high number of Alawite men dying in combat. Syria
Israeli defense minister rejected demands to retake Gaza The pragmatic line advocated by Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon on the Gaza incursion has earned him the esteem of many in the general Israeli public but might have cost him the support of the far right. Israel
Herzog stands by Netanyahu on Gaza In an interview, Israeli opposition leader Isaac Herzog explains that he backed the operation in the Gaza Strip in the interest of solidarity, but when the dust settles, nothing will have changed between him and the prime minister. Israel
Did an Israeli drone strike militants in Egypt? Eyewitnesses say an Israeli drone struck Egyptian militants in the Sinai Peninsula on July 23, despite Egypt’s official assertions that it was responsible for the strike. Egypt
Only Israel can break through diplomatic impasse The continued conflict between Israel and the Palestinians is not due to an Arab rejection of Israeli existence, but to Israel’s rejection of Arab acceptance. Palestine
UAE tries to scuttle Qatar-Saudi reconciliation There are signs that ties between Qatar and Saudi Arabia are improving, but the United Arab Emirates is maintaining a hard-line position on Doha, threatening Gulf reconciliation. Saudi Arabia
Israel’s agreement on Gaza must come from Abbas Four conditions are indispensable to ending Gaza's agony that, if met, will make it “obvious that Hamas’ way of terror brought nothing but devastation” and the way of Ramallah, negotiation and not violence “is the way for the Palestinian people to achieve its rights.” Palestine
Obama: Syria chemical attack would cross US 'core national interests' President Obama is consulting with allies and advisers over what the US response would be if the Syrian Government did in fact attack a rebel village with chemical weapons. Syria
Ayatollah Khamenei, Assad spoke of reforms Iran's former ambassador to Syria conceded in an interview that the Syrian government made mistakes in the first stages of the Syrian protests and revealed that Iran's supreme leader wrote a letter to Syria's president urging reforms. Syria
Does Netanyahu's political future depend on Hamas? The Israeli prime minister is on shaky ground after acting against the will of his electorate concerning Gaza, but he has a historic opportunity to recreate himself as a leader by spearheading fresh new diplomatic moves that appeal to the Israeli center. Palestine
Saudi Arabia losing influence in Yemen Saudi Arabia once enjoyed unrivalled influence in Yemen, but the transition of power and breakdown of state have allowed other foreign powers, particularly Qatar and Iran, to get a stake in Yemeni affairs. Saudi Arabia
Gaza war stifles democracy in Israel The current Israel-Hamas conflict has generated an aggressive political patriotic discourse in Israel that has taken a heavy toll on Israeli democracy, in which those who dare to oppose the operation are expected to keep silent. Palestine
