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
Poll suggests Israelis could be sold on Arab League Initiative A poll conducted ahead of a major Israeli political conference examined the extent of the Israeli public’s exposure to the Arab Peace Initiative, and findings indicate that most Israelis are ignorant of the details of the plan. Saudi Arabia
Obama administration gets it wrong on Hamas The recent call by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to protect Al-Aqsa Mosque might inflame an already volatile situation around the unity government, which the United States should refuse to recognize. Palestine
Lebanon's debt grows with political stalemate A report by Merrill Lynch has downgraded Lebanon's financial standing because of its external debt and political paralysis. Lebanon
Allegations of racism surface in Israel’s ultra-Orthodox schools Despite rulings by the Supreme Court and ministerial guidelines, the Ashkenazi ultra-Orthodox establishment keeps rejecting Sephardic female students, wishing to maintain their separate education system, neighborhoods and marriages. Israel
Hamas sees Russia visit as means to end regional isolation Hamas political bureau leader Khaled Meshaal will visit Moscow in the coming weeks, where he is expected to ask Russia to help restore Hamas' ties with Iran and to pressure Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to soften his opposition to the Islamist movement. Palestine
Turkey’s intra-Islamic witch hunt The deeper lesson from the Erdogan-Gulen war is that even "good Muslims" do not fare well when dominating an authoritarian state. Turkey
Exclusive: Abu Zaida talks on his removal from Fatah In an interview with Al-Monitor, Sufian Abu Zaida, expelled from Fatah, defines Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as a "dictator," while criticizing Israel's objection to the unity government, saying it offers Israel both security cooperation and recognition. Palestine
Rouhani accused of trying to separate religion, administration Iranian President Hassan Rouhani continues to be criticized for saying that the administration should leave religious direction in the hands of experts and the clergy. Iran
Arab Peace Initiative still Israel's best option Israeli leaders who refuse to take up the Arab Peace Initiative are missing a historic chance for peace. Israel
Syria confident of Russian military support In an interview with Al-Monitor in Damascus, a senior Syrian official said the Syrian war would end like the Algerian one, with the state defeating the terrorists and staying in power. Syria
Maliki’s call for unity conference in Anbar may be too late Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki recently called for a conference to solve the Anbar crisis, which might be futile if the tribal and political differences are not settled first. Iraq
Syrian coast attracts Aleppans displaced by war Thousands of mostly Sunnis from Aleppo fleeing the violence in their city have found work, and little discrimination, on the Alawite-dominated Syrian coast. Syria
