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
Qalandia Attack Insult to Peace Talks Why did Israel conduct a raid on the Qalandia refugee camp at a time of relative quiet and amid ongoing peace talks? Palestine
Sultan Qaboos, UN's Feltman Test Diplomacy with Iran Sultan Qaboos of Oman and UN Under Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman create diplomatic flurry in Tehran. Oman
Turkey’s Secret Egyptian Channel Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu's latest statements on Turkey’s Egypt policies prompt speculation about what comes next. Turkey
US Attack on Syria Will Achieve Nothing US attack on Syria will backfire on the Obama administration and Israel, awaken nationalism within the Syrian people and strengthen President Bashar al-Assad. Israel
Israelis Squander Future By Overspending Two years after the social-justice protest, Israelis have not learned and are still spending money they don't have, with no plans for the future, warns Ran Melamed, deputy director of Yedid. Israel
Islamic Jihad Calls For End to Peace Talks Islamic Jihad has warned that its movement in the West Bank is not bound by the Gaza cease-fire agreement signed with Israel in November 2012. Palestine
Hezbollah Locks Down Beirut Stronghold After Bombings The security lockdown is a reaction to rising sectarian tensions and two bombs hitting Hezbollah’s stronghold in southern Beirut in two months. Lebanon
Turkey’s Main Opposition Party No Threat to Erdogan The Republican People’s Party (CHP) does not represent a credible opposition to the ruling AKP. Turkey
'Naming' and 'Shaming' In Turkish Politics Naming and shaming policies that have intensified after the Gezi Park protests hurt Turkey’s democratization. Turkey
Reports of Syria Chemical Attack Split Iraqis The alleged chemical attack in Syria has revealed a sectarian rift in Iraq, with some Sunnis accusing Syria’s Alawite regime, while some Shiites blame the massacre on the opposition. Iraq
Press Freedom in the New Turkey The complexity of the Turkish media scene cannot be understood without knowing its background. Turkey
