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
Saudi Arabia and Turkey Falter Over Egypt Though Saudi Arabia and Turkey share strategic goals in the region, the Egyptian coup is testing the strength of the two countries' relations. Saudi Arabia
Erdogan’s 'Now Or Never' Moment In Turkish-Kurdish Peace Process Pressure is mounting on Turkey’s peace process, with such issues as teaching the Kurdish language in schools proving particularly important. Turkey
Turkey’s 'Precious Isolation' In the Middle East Foreign policy decisions by the Erdogan government, including on Egypt and Syria, have left Turkey without any influence over events in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia
Turkey Takes Sides, Pays a Price The kidnappings in Lebanon are only one of the prices of Turkey’s ill-conceived, sectarian-nature foreign policy — which is nothing new. Lebanon
Qatar Encroaches on Saudi Influence In Yemen As elsewhere in the Middle East post-Arab Spring, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are vying for influence in an unstable and economically weak Yemen. Saudi Arabia
Ultra-Orthodox and Left-Wing Israelis Join Forces in Opposition The odd-couple collaboration between the opposition ultra-Orthodox Yahadut HaTorah and left-wing Meretz might someday expand from their social justice struggle to diplomatic issues as well. Israel
Lebanon Risks Becoming More Like Iraq Than Syria The nature of back-and-forth Shiite-Sunni fighting in Lebanon more closely resembles the conflict raging in Iraq than the one in neighboring Syria. Iraq
Assyrians Discuss Possible State in Iraq Diasporan Assyrians, descendants of one of Iraq’s oppressed and scattered historic minorities, are examining establishing an autonomous or independent state in Ninevah province. Iraq
Internet Porn Ban Sticking in Gaza Human rights activists in Gaza are largely shying from voicing their opposition to Hamas' Internet porn ban for fear of societal judgment. Palestine
Iran on Egypt’s Crisis: Political Islam in Danger Iran fears that civil war could break out in Egypt, and worries about the dangers that could pose for the region. Egypt
Egypt's Paradox Egyptians are grappling with unprecedented violence rooted in a divide over the military-led government. Egypt
Turkish Children Steered Toward Religious Education AKP policies are forcing a majority of children to be pushed toward either religious education or vocational schools. Turkey
