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
Erdogan: 'No one should expect me to provoke ISIS' Turkey pursues a cautious policy while Iraq's military crisis escalates. Iraq
Will Assad reach out to 'national opposition' in Syria? According to Syrian officials, the re-elected President Bashar al-Assad will likely carry messages of reform and rapprochement with the so-called “national opposition” in his July 17 address marking his third term. Syria
Iraq’s ambassador to US: war with ISIS 'acid test' of US-Iraq ties Lukman Faily, Iraq’s ambassador to the United States, says that in light of the urgency of the Iraq crisis, “we will not be in a position to choose our partners and whoever is available to help us in our survival war, then we will take that.” Saudi Arabia
Gender segregation in Israeli schools a social 'disaster' In an interview with Al-Monitor, former education minister, professor Amnon Rubinstein, criticizes both government and opposition for neglecting the issue of higher education accessibility as a tool to narrow social gaps. Israel
Ultra-Orthodox women fight for their right to higher education The religious ruling of Rabbi Shalom Cohen against higher education for women shook the Sephardic ultra-Orthodox party Shas, at a moment when its political leaders are trying to regain traditional constituents and secular support. Israel
Hamas gains in backlash to Abbas speech President Mahmoud Abbas’ speech in which he emphasized security coordination with Israel has seen a fierce backlash from the Palestinian street, givng Hamas a likely poll boost. Palestine
Palestinian budget burdened by hefty pensions for ministers The latest unity government is the 17th Palestinian government in two decades, and an enormous number of former ministers are enjoying excessive benefits the government cannot afford. Palestine
Erdogan's reforms meant to educate 'pious generation' A far-reaching overhaul underway in Turkey’s educational system indicates that the government uses education as a tool to shape conservative and pious students. Turkey
Allawi: US policy toward Iraq 'without a compass' In an interview with Al-Monitor, former Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi says that the Iraqi army "has lost its identity and its role" as a result of the current Iraqi government's policies. Iraq
Aleppo's water crisis adds to local suffering Rebel attempts to cut the water supply to regime-held areas have backfired, disrupting drinking water supplies to the entire city. Syria
Iraqis fear uncertain future in areas under 'Islamic State' The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) is not the only group operating in regions now under its banner. Iraq
Qom's Society of Seminary Teachers issues warning to Rouhani The president of the Society of Seminary Teachers in Qom has said that President Hassan Rouhani was issued unofficial warnings and that if he fails to heed them, he would be officially cautioned. Iran
