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 Opens New Knesset With Same Tired Messages Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opened the new Knesset session with recycled messages on Iran, saying little about negotiations with the Palestinians or social and economic issues. Israel
New Palestinian Generation Opts For Fewer Children Dire economic circumstances are prompting younger Palestinians to break with tradition and consider having fewer children. Palestine
Pressure Mounts on Turkey Over Radical Groups in Syria A recent Human Rights Watch report has drawn further attention to the need for Turkey to control its border and prevent the influx of jihadists to Syria. Syria
Netanyahu Offers Sedative To Israel's Right Wing Israelis and Palestinians are debating whether to advance toward an interim agreement or a permanent one, while the Americans might present a third option — that of a declaration of principles. Palestine
Iran's Nuclear Martyrs A visit to the graves of two of Iran's nuclear scientists, who were assassinated, reveals popular support for the country's nuclear stance. Iran
Balyoz Verdicts Put Turkey’s Democracy to Test – Again … The Supreme Court of Appeals confirmed that the military actually planned to carry a military coup, but it failed to convince the general public that the country’s democracy benefited from this trial. Turkey
Fatah Leader Warns of 'Extreme' Israeli Position in Peace Talks In an exclusive telephone interview, former Palestinian Minister Qadura Fares warns that hopelessness and frustration are on the rise among Palestinians. Palestine
Brain Drain: Existential Threat For Israel After Israelis Michael Levitt and Arieh Warshel won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, their decisions to emigrate from Israel to the United States provoked a discussion about the academic "brain drain" Israel has been experiencing. Israel
Rabin’s Legacy Fades as Israelis Lose Interest in Peace Talks Lack of participation in Yitzhak Rabin's 18th memorial ceremony testifies to the ongoing loss of interest by the Israeli public in the Palestinian issue, unless a new agreement is presented. Palestine
Al-Qaeda's Strategy Evolves in Libya Al-Qaeda is establishing a presence in Libya's security and intelligence systems. Culture & Society
Egypt’s 'Lost Dream' of Linking Congo, Nile Rivers For more than a century, there's been talk of linking the Congo and Nile rivers to provide Egypt with water, yet successive Egyptian governments have strongly opposed such an undertaking. Egypt
Sacred Meets Profane During Hajj Politics and profit mix with spirituality during the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. Saudi Arabia
