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
Foreign investments slip as Lebanon remains in crisis In addition to stability and electing a president, a series of reforms is necessary to stop the regression of Lebanon’s economy. Lebanon
Tweets from Gaza show Israel other side of war In an interview with Al-Monitor, Israeli social media analyst Orit Perlov discusses how social media provides a look at Gazans' experience of the war and what they really think of Hamas and the Palestinian leadership. Palestine
Islamic State destroys sacred shrine in Mosul The shrine of Prophet Jonah was held as sacred by Jews, Christians and Muslims. Iraq
Does Iraq's president hold any real power? Iraqis are watching to see if new President Fouad Massoum will take the initiative and restore the privileges of the president’s position. Iraq
Security forces move on radical Islamists in Tripoli The arrest of Hussam Abdullah al-Sabbagh, wanted for committing terrorist attacks, has triggered demonstrations by Salafists in Tripoli. Lebanon
Killed in Gaza, American 'lone soldiers' honored by Israelis Thousands of Israelis came to the funerals of Sean Carmeli, Jordan Bensemhoun and Max Steinberg to show solidarity with the fallen soldiers who had immigrated to Israel alone. Israel
Al Jazeera's Israel problem Al Jazeera's interviews with Israeli spokespeople are nothing more than a fig leaf, as its coverage of the conflict is far from neutral. Qatar
White House meets Jewish leaders to press for delay in new Iran sanctions Administration officials met with Jewish leaders and assured them the US would not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon, but warned that additional sanctions at time could derail diplomacy. Iran
From cold war to cold peace? Ex Mossad chief sees possible opening Former Mossad Chief Efraim Halevy has said that if Iran and the US are able to reach a nuclear deal and the two nations reduce tensions on other fronts hostilities between the Islamic Republic and Israel could possibly be eased. Israel
Iran FM Zarif outlines ideas to exit nuclear dispute Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif has said that throughout the last two month of nuclear talks he has proposed mechanisms be put in place to address the P5+1's concern of Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon, while noting that Iran must be allowed to reach its objective of retaining a peaceful nuclear energy program. Iran
Israelis accused of torturing Palestinian child detainees The Palestinian Prisoners Club says there has been an increase in the number of cases of Palestinian children tortured during interrogation by Israeli officers. Palestine
Negotiators seek progress at Iran nuclear talks Diplomats from the P5+1 and Iran aim to make headway during the next round of nuclear talks; however, Zarif has said that if a deal is not reached during the next meeting 'it’s not a disaster'. Iran
