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
Sectarianism Dominates Mideast Media Coverage of Syria, Bahrain A close look at Middle Eastern media reveals a sectarian bias for regional audiences and a more democratic face when broadcasting in English to the West. Iraq
Mayor: Israel's 'Structural Injustice' In Resource Distribution According to the mayor of Yeruham, Michael Biton, the Israeli government refuses to decide on differential allocation that would rescue the development towns, “because its main beneficiaries would be Arab municipalities.” Israel
Turkey’s AKP Mobilizes Twitter Army for Elections The Justice and Development Party has acknowledged the need for a social-media strategy. Turkey
Israel's Right Wing Embarrasses Itself Over Court Ruling The overreaction of the Israeli right to the supreme court decision on illegal immigrants reflects its self-perception as a persecuted opposition, not as the party in power. Israel
Two-State Solution Under Siege US political scientist Ian Steven Lustick is the latest intellectual to jump on the one-state bandwagon for resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Palestine
Iraqi Secularists Struggle To Establish Political Presence With Iraq's national culture characterized by sectarian divisions, Iraqi secularists have had difficulty gaining traction in post-2003 politics. Iraq
Turkey’s Sunni-Alevi Fault Line Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s democratization package will need to dampen sectarian tensions. Turkey
Sadat: Egypt Will Keep The Peace with Israel Esmat al-Sadat, nephew of the late Egyptian president, is confident about the future of the Israeli-Egyptian peace agreement: "It will be maintained even when there’s utter chaos in Egypt." Egypt
Rouhani Should Give Priority To Religious Freedom in Iran Religious minority communities still face repression in Iran. Iran
Iraqi Music Tinged by Violent, Turbulent Times With musical trends typically reflecting the times of any particular society, Iraqi music today is increasingly characterized by themes of war and violence. Iraq
Israeli Supreme Court Rules For Democracy Israel's highest court strikes down a controversial immigration law. Israel
Syria War Polarizes West Bank Palestinians Increased international attention on Syria has reignited debate among West Bank Palestinians over whom to support. Palestine
