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
Bennett Spins Again On Palestinian Prisoner Release HaBaYit HaYehudi Chairman Naftali Bennett has criticized the prisoner release, but is not going so far as to jeopardize his seat as Israel’s Economy and Trade minister. Palestine
Why Did Iran Postpone Meshaal Visit? The "resistance" axis of Iran, Syria and Hezbollah are not in agreement over welcoming Hamas back into the fold. Palestine
Turkey-Lebanon Detainee Swap Shows Lebanese State's Decline Although the Lebanese rejoiced at the deal that secured the release of nine Lebanese detainees in Syria, the details of the swap reveal the Lebanese state’s inefficiency in dealing with such matters. Lebanon
Erdogan: 'Kosovo Is Turkey' Prime Minister Erdogan's comments on Kosovo have damaged one of Turkey's few foreign policy bright spots, peacemaking and peacekeeping in the Balkans. Turkey
Kurdish Rebels Ban Child Soldiers The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has signed on to the Geneva Call’s initiative after three years of negotiation. Syria
Is Yoga Halal for Turks? Much discussed in the Muslim world since the 1990s, the question of yoga and Islam has finally confronted a rather confused public in Turkey. Turkey
Peace Demands Palestinians Recognize Israel as 'Jewish State' Former Israeli Cabinet secretary Zvi Hauser responds to Nabeel Kassis: Only recognition of Israel as the home of the Jewish nation, alongside a Palestinian state, can lead to a historic compromise. Palestine
Syria’s Race Against Time UN-Arab League Joint Representative Lakhdar Brahimi presses for Geneva II, while Saudi women are on the road again. Saudi Arabia
EU Gives Turkey a Failing Mark On Media Freedom While the European Parliament report on Turkey gives the government low marks on media freedom, the media industry may be mostly responsible for this outcome. Turkey
Can Nude Feminism Succeed in Turkey? In Turkey, the nude protesters of women's rights group FEMEN face a larger obstacle than male supremacy: They don't quite understand the real issues that strain Turkish politics and society. Turkey
Rift Between Cairo, Washington Deepens The US decision to curtail Egypt's military aid, while unlikely to influence Cairo's growing divergence from US policy, could give Washington a chance to reset what the goals should be. Egypt
Druze to Command IDF Infantry Brigade The appointment of Col. Rassad Alian as the Golani Brigade's commander sharpens the contrast between the allegiance of the Druze to Israel, and the discrimination they suffer in terms of budgets and infrastructure. Israel
