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
'Foloul' loses its punch in Egypt The term foloul, or "remnant," was once widely used by the revolutionaries against anyone associated with the Hosni Mubarak regime, but the complexity of Egypt’s political situation has cost the term its effectiveness. Egypt
Sadr's sudden retirement shakes up Iraqi politics Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, leader of a major Iraqi Shiite force, shocked the country by dissolving most of his political operation. Iraq
New US Syria policy should engage Iran As the talks on a comprehensive nuclear agreement with Iran commence this week in Vienna, there is also an opening to engage Iran on Syria and terrorism. Syria
Can Europe take over if US fails Israeli-Palestinian negotiations? Israeli extreme-right politicians slandered European Parliament President Martin Schulz for his speech at the Knesset, ignoring European contributions in general and those of Germany in particular to Israel's well-being. Palestine
Some Iranians skeptical US has given up hopes for regime change Recent comments by Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that the United States would pursue regime change if it could, indicate that the top Iranian leadership will continue to seek guarantees the United States is not after regime change if the two countries are to improve ties. Iran
Saudi Arabia plans to pitch Obama for regime change in Syria Saudi Arabia has recently taken steps to discourage its nationals from joining jihadist forces in Syria, as it plans an appeal to US President Barack Obama to become more engaged in Saudi-backed efforts to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Saudi Arabia
Iran calls for end to foreign support for extremist groups in Syria An Iranian diplomat also notes his country’s active support for chemical disarmament and humanitarian relief corridors in Syria. Syria
Netanyahu absent from Knesset battle over ultra-Orthodox draft Ofer Shelah, chairman of the Yesh Atid Knesset faction, calls on the prime minister to present immediately for voting the ultra-Orthodox draft bill: "This was what half the coalition negotiations, if not more, were about." Israel
Study shows dire consequences if Palestinian Authority collapses The Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research has released a detailed study on the consequences of the fall of the Palestinian Authority. Palestine
Iraq’s politics of posters A proliferation of political posters, especially of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, as Iraq gears up for elections, brings back memories from Saddam Hussein's era. Iraq
Is Erdogan hindering Turkey's foreign policy reset? Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan seems to be undercutting the efforts of his foreign minister to get Turkey’s Middle East policies back on track. Egypt
Time not right for Turkish-Israeli reconciliation Neither Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan nor Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are ready to do what is necessary to begin to normalize relations. Palestine
