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
Yazidis Benefit From Kurdish Gains In Northeast Syria An exclusive report from Amuda show how Syria's Yazidi community sees an opportunity to revive its identity on the tails of rising Kurdish power in the country's northeast. Syria
Iraq: Tinted Cars and Ghost-like Officials Iraqi officials and influential figures often distance themselves from average citizens, hiding behind tinted car windows and under the protection of extensive security details. Iraq
Israeli-Turkish Ties Sink to New Low The revelation that the head of Turkish Intelligence may have blown the cover of Israeli agents has deepened the crisis in US-Turkey relations. Israel
Syrian Kurds Beset by Divisions Syrian Kurds are resisting efforts by Iraqi Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani to exert influence over their movement. Iraq
Bennett Campaigns for Druze Vote In Israeli Municipal Elections Naftali Bennett, chairman of the right-wing HaBayit HaYehudi Party, is running 88 lists for the municipal elections on Oct. 22, including one in the Druze village of Daliyat al-Karmel. Israel
Migrant Boat Tragedy Highlights Greater PLO Role The migrant boat tragedy near Malta on Oct. 16 has rekindled the old Palestine Liberation Organization's role as the representative of all Palestinians, including refugees. Palestine
Neo-Ottoman Cuisine Needs Fusion Despite rhetoric, Ottoman cuisine even in Istanbul sometimes fails to incorporate the multicultural aspects of its roots. Originals
Deri Ready to Give Facelift To Israeli Shas Party The old-new chairman of Sephardic Shas Party, Aryeh Deri, plans to rejuvenate its identity as a traditional social party, distancing it from the sectarian tendencies of the ultra-Orthodox. Israel
Iran’s New Nuclear Proposal Iran offers to freeze its 20% enrichment of uranium but still wants to complete a reactor that could yield plutonium, another potential bomb fuel. Iran
Radical Groups Operate On Turkey’s Border Turkey is increasingly identified as a country facilitating radical forces in Syria, and thereby isolated among its allies. Syria
What, or Who, Killed Yasser Arafat? The Lancet's suggestion that Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat might have been poisoned leaves room for doubt, not only regarding the credibility of the findings, but the motivations behind them. Palestine
The Roots of Radicalism In Political Islam Sunni and Shiite fundamentalists have both sought to return to their own ideal version of history while rejecting modernity. Turkey
