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
Iraq's Morgues Overwhelmed By Surge in Terror Attacks The recent surge in suicide attacks has started overwhelming Iraq’s morgues, even though the country has become experienced in dealing with large numbers of deaths given its numerous wars since 1980. Iraq
Has Wolf in Sheepskin Snuck Into Turkey's Eid Al-Adha? For the first time in 14 years, Turks can donate the hides of the 2.5 million livestock they sacrifice during Eid al-Adha, causing secularists to fear Islamist charities will have a $50 million payday. Turkey
Iraq Plays Politics with Security As Elections Approach Iraqi politicians treat security as an electoral matter, while security disintegrates throughout the country. Iraq
Palestinian Olive Season Puts Focus on Israeli Settlements Olive trees are a Palestinian national symbol, a fact acknowledged by Israeli settlers who continually seek to destroy them. Palestine
Gulf Cities Have Long Way to Go Before Leading Arab World The author takes issue with Sultan Al Qassemi's article calling the Gulf cities the new centers of the Arab world. United Arab Emirates
Islamist, Christian Differences On Display at Conference A conference held in Amman, Jordan, about Christians and the Arab Spring revealed the many differences between Islamists and Christians over minority rights. Lebanon
Has Egypt Lost the Plot? Egyptians seem to have forgotten the initial goals that fueled uprisings against the Muslim Brotherhood and the denial of human rights. Egypt
Erdogan Uses Christian Seminary As Chip in Talks With Greece Is Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan trying to impose authority over Muslim leaders in Greece? Turkey
The Iranian Trend And Geneva Nuclear Talks Al-Monitor’s coverage of Iran as negotiations commence this week in Geneva with expectations of progress on the nuclear file, and implications for Syria and the region. Israel
Crimes With a View In Istanbul Neighborhood Gulsuyu, a run-down Istanbul neighborhood with spectacular views and rampant crime, was neglected by the authorities until a recent murder. Turkey
Nour Party: Don't Blame Islamists For Brotherhood's Mistakes In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, the head of the Egyptian Salafist Al-Nour Party, discusses the mistakes of the Muslim Brotherhood and the upcoming elections. Egypt
Syrian Arab Village Welcomes Kurdish Fighters Villagers consider arrival of Kurdish People's Defense Units (YPG) forces a liberation in light of the presence of al-Qaeda-affiliated groups. Syria
