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
Netanyahu risks Israeli isolation over Iran deal The success of the P5+1 in closing a deal with Iran might encourage the body to take part in the Israeli-Palestinian talks and fill the diplomatic space left by the Middle East Quartet. Israel
Jailed cartoons of Turkey Creative cartoonists in Turkey employ different forms of graphic protest to deftly criticize Erdogan and his policies. Turkey
Netanyahu's 10 lessons to be learned on Iran There are 10 reasons for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to abandon his fight over the deal with Iran and concentrate his efforts to restore relations with the Obama administration. Palestine
Egypt government to review Morsi pardons The Egyptian government has announced that it will review the pardons issued by ousted President Mohammed Morsi in October 2012, with some calling this an unconstitutional step. Egypt
Iraqi Shiites between secularism, sectarianism At a crucial time ahead of elections, Iraq’s Shiites find themselves at a crossroads, choosing between a more secular society or a religiously based path. Iraq
Iraqi officials offer excuses, not apologies Amid the deteriorating security situation in Iraq over the past few years, officials have been hesitant to apologize or admit to mistakes, and instead resort to scapegoats and ready excuses. Iraq
Tamarod founder says Egypt’s new constitution limits military In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, founder of the Egyptian Tamarod Movement Mahmoud Badr stresses that despite claims to the contrary, the new constitution further limits the army’s purview. Egypt
Re-emergence of the Yemeni left Once a central fixture of Yemen’s political scene, the country’s leftist movement has been absent from the scene for the past two decades, but may be making a comeback. Yemen
Iran deal expected to slow Palestinian-Israeli talks The breakthrough in Iran's nuclear talks may prompt Israel to drag its feet in its own US-sponsored talks with the Palestinians. Palestine
Iran wary of Iraqi plans to increase oil exports Though its own exports are limited by international sanctions, Iran has criticized Iraq’s intentions to fill the market gap by increasing its own oil exports. Iraq
The deal with Iran, and what comes next The agreement with Iran opens up new possibilities for both the United States and Russia in the Middle East. Turkey
Let's talk about sex in Egypt A video by young Egyptians about sexual repression has gone viral via social media. Egypt
