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
Iraqi deputy prime minister: 'I was mistaken' in joining government In an interview with Al-Monitor, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq speaks about the roots of the crisis in Iraq and stresses the need for a political solution. Iraq
Hamas denies link to murders of Israeli students A senior Palestinian officer working on the case of the murdered Israeli settlers said it was likely that they were killed shortly after being kidnapped. Palestine
Israeli social media becomes venue for incitement The murder of the three Israeli youths has led extremist groups to call for revenge over social media. Palestine
Bedouin take part in land raffle in Israeli town Yeruham The organizers of the land plot raffle for the new Yeruham neighborhood did not expect to receive applications from central residents hoping to relocate to the south nor from neighboring Bedouins. Israel
The false 'Awakening' model to deal with ISIS in Iraq Given past experiences, the Iraqi government will likely face difficulties persuading armed Sunni groups to separate from the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). Iraq
Russia banks on Syrian unity As Moscow grapples with the changes in the region, it continues to support an inclusive peace process in Syria. Iraq
Christians displaced again by Iraqi violence Thousands of Christians have fled from Mosul to Iraqi Kurdistan after ISIS took control of the city. Iraq
Hard-line Fatah leader in running to succeed Mahmoud Abbas Senior Fatah official Jibril Rajoub has taken a harsher stance toward Israel throughout the tensions surrounding the murder of Israeli and Palestinian teenagers. Qatar
Was Israeli public misled on abductions? A full recording of one of the murdered youth's emergency call to Israeli police has led to speculation that Israeli government leaders believed the students were murdered soon after their kidnapping. Palestine
Turkey assesses losses from Iraqi market Turkish officials, politicians and traders are trying to calculate Turkey's losses in the Iraqi market after the ISIS takeover of Mosul and other Iraqi cities. Iraq
Hamas committed to unity deal despite Israeli pressure Hamas believes Israel is trying to exploit the murders of three settlers in the West Bank to destroy the Palestinian reconciliation deal. Palestine
Erdogan looks for first-round knockout in presidential contest Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will use all his power to clinch a first-round victory in the presidential race on Aug. 10, which is not assured. Turkey
