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
Rabbi Ovadia Yosef 'Was Willing To Give Back the Temple Mount' David Glass, Shas Party legal adviser, reveals in an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor that Rabbi Ovadia Yosef preferred peace to land in dealing with the Palestinians. Palestine
Rabinovitch Says Israel Benefits From US-Russia Deal on Syria Former Israeli ambassador to the US, Itamar Rabinovich, says Israel benefited from the chemical weapons agreement with Syria, but warns of a weakening US position relative to Russia in the region. Israel
Prison Break, Suicide, Bombing Rock Iraqi Kurdistan The Kurdistan Region of Iraq deals with the implications of its first terrorist attack in six years. Iraq
Rabbi Ovadia Yosef's Funeral And the Secular Media The massive attendance at the funeral of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef reflects the changes he brought upon Israeli society by building up the political power of Israeli Sephardi Jews. Israel
Golan Heights Students Return To Syria Despite War Despite the war in Syria, some students from the Golan Heights are still crossing back into Syria to continue their university studies. Israel
Iranians React With Anger To Netanyahu Comments While many Western-oriented Iranians mocked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's comments about Iranians not having access to blue jeans, others seemed most angered by his threats to bomb Iran and push for more sanctions. Israel
Erdogan's Frustration Shows Over Syria Deal The Turkish prime minister is questioning John Kerry's praise of Syria’s compliance to date with UN Security Council Resolution 2118. Syria
Iran Shifts to Lower Gear In Privatization A change of management at the Iran Privatization Organization is the reason for a new focus geared to improved productivity and efficiency. Iran
Rabbi Ovadia Yosef: An Israeli Revolutionary Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, who died on Oct. 7, led a social revolution for equality and integration that is yet to achieve its goals. Israel
Natural Gas Resources May Be Backstory in Syria War The Syria war, like many of the region's other conflicts, has an important oil and gas angle. Lebanon
Displaced Syrians Shed Light On Lebanon’s Internally Displaced The continuous flow of displaced Syrians into Lebanon throughout the civil war has served to bring attention to internally displaced Lebanese citizens, who lead similarly disaffected lives. Lebanon
Women's Film Festival in Gaza Touches on Sexual Taboos The Gaza-based women's film festival has daringly screened films addressing women's issues that are considered taboo in this conservative society, including sexuality and harassment. Palestine
