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
Turkish Politics Is Lost At Meeting People's Needs The regularly scheduled speeches by party leaders on Tuesdays are turning people off of politics. Turkey
Sudan’s Lost Generation The story of a young Sudanese student’s journey through despair, fanaticism and transformation. Sudan
Why Palestinians Should Not Recognize Israel as Jewish State A former Palestinian negotiator argues that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's insistence that Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state is an attempt to discourage agreement. Palestine
Turkey’s Kurdish Peace Effort At Crossroads The likelihood of a resumption of violence with the Kurds in Turkey is not a distant possibility. Turkey
Egypt-Qatar Relations Sour Over World Cup Broadcast Rights Qatar’s ties with Egypt have been further strained by a dispute over broadcast rights for soccer matches. Qatar
Mustafa Barghouti Garners Support Among West Bank Youth Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouti offers an alternative to the veteran Fatah and Hamas movements, preaching against corruption and for democracy and transparency. Palestine
Israel Debates Holocaust Education For First Graders The proposal by Israel's education minister to introduce the Holocaust into the first-grade curriculum has sparked an ethical debate about the role these studies play in shaping Israeli society. Israel
Hasankeyf: Civilization Condemned to Death The countdown has started for unique, 12,000-year-old historical monuments in the Tigris Valley to be submerged by the waters of a dam promising an annual revenue of 300 million Turkish lira. Turkey
In Yemen, Facebook, Qat, and Veil Increasing use of the Internet in Yemen today has managed both to increase people-to-people connections and reinforce some traditional customs. Yemen
Will US, Iran Back Maliki In Iraqi Elections? While the US and Iran both support Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, sectarian violence is nonetheless on the rise. Iraq
Palestinians Again BoycottEast Jerusalem Elections Voter turnout among Palestinians varied drastically among regions for municipal elections in Israel on Oct. 22, amid a near-comprehensive boycott in east Jerusalem. Palestine
Solidarity Visits to Gaza Dwindle International solidarity delegations to Gaza have struggled to enter the territory since Egypt's tightening of its blockade, cutting off a vital source of essential medical assistance. Palestine
