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
Nightmare in Nairobi: What Can West Learn From Israel? While Israel enjoys a relatively terror-free era, security experts warn of Islamic terror groups spreading across Africa and toward the Middle East as the West avoids dealing with them. Israel
Diplomatic Negotiations Cost Netanyahu His Likud Base While negotiations with the Palestinians are underway, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces growing distrust and lack of support within his own Likud party. Israel
Iraq's Sunni-Shiite Killings: When It’s Based on a Name In a time when something as simple as your name or accent can condemn you to death, many Iraqis, particularly the youth, are distancing themselves from divisive sectarian identities. Iraq
Tracing Syrian Conflict Back to Iraq’s Civil War The relationship between Iraq and Syria has always been close, yet contradictory, with some arguing that the economic and political results of the Iraqi civil war led to the outbreak of Syria’s current conflict. Iraq
Ethiopian Jews Redefine Israeli Beauty Social entrepreneur Yohannes Azanaw has opened the first Israeli agency for dark-skinned models, challenging misperceptions and racism. Israel
Israel Allows Construction Materials To Enter Gaza Under EU Pressure Israel briefly modified its blockade on Gaza to allow in badly needed construction material, but Gazans say it is not enough to ease the economic crisis. Palestine
Egypt Struggles to Sustain Subsidies Egypt's new government has launched a plan to alleviate poverty, but many doubt its ability to finance the projects. Egypt
Saudi Women Renew Fight To Lift Driving Ban A Saudi student's online call to challenge once again the ban on women driving has gone viral. Saudi Arabia
Al-Qaeda's Latest Target: Syria's Civilian Activists Opposition activists are being targeted by al-Qaeda fighters in rebel-held areas in northern Syria. Syria
Nasrallah Warns Turkey, Gulf on Syria Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah speaks on Syria and the region. Legacy: Gulf
Only Palestinian Authority Can Prevent Third Intifada There is sufficient rage and despair in the West Bank to fuel another intifada, but Palestinian Authority Chairman Abu Mazen knows this would be a fatal blow for Fatah. Palestine
Rouhani Puts US to the Test Presidents Barack Obama and Hassan Rouhani may have limited time to solve the nuclear crisis and reduce sanctions against Iran. Iran
