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
Traumatic Memories Mar Baghdad Neighborhoods Violence and terrorism have left many Iraqis with post-traumatic stress associated with specific areas of Baghdad they continue to associate with a violent event. Iraq
Ayatollah Sistani and The Battle of Najaf A book by an aide to Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani reveals new details about the 2004 Battle of Najaf. Iraq
Turkey Decides Jabhat Al-Nusra Is a Threat A Turkish official has said Ankara will not support the al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria. Syria
Oslo Accords a Mixed Memory For Israel On the 20th anniversary of Oslo, there are no celebrations. Palestine
Abu Mazen Remains Palestine's Teflon Leader Despite all the criticism leveled at Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, he still polls the highest among Palestinian leaders. Palestine
'Diplomatic Vitality' Needed to Bring Peace to Syria While the US public awaits President Barack Obama's speech on Sept. 10, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has publicly criticized a US military attack against Syria, lobbying to continue negotiations during Geneva II. Lebanon
Would Syria Retaliate Against Turkey? Al-Monitor’s analysis coverage of a possible US military strike on Syria. Israel
Israel Waits for Erdogan Deteriorating relations with Syria, Iran and post-Muslim Brotherhood Egypt force Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to re-establish the strategic alliance with Israel. Israel
Erdogan, Istanbul Lose 2020 Olympics to Tokyo Istanbul lost its bid for the 2020 Olympics, but Erdogan may have lost more. Turkey
Women Playing Key Roles in Israeli Politics Israeli women are shattering the glass ceiling of male-dominated politics in the Knesset and preparing for the upcoming municipal elections. Israel
Israeli Druze Village Excels in Education Despite the discrimination in budget allocation and educational assistance suffered by the Israeli Arab sector, the Druze town of Beit Jann has achieved record high graduation rates. Israel
