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
McKeon, House Cautious on Syria Buck McKeon, Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, says the military’s intervention in Egypt was the right thing to put Egypt’s democratic transition back on track. Egypt
Egyptian General, Muslim Brotherhood Call for Friday Protests Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's call for Friday protests may be a maneuver to show the world how little support the Muslim Brotherhood has overall in Egypt. Egypt
Israeli Intellectuals Support European Sanctions Many Israeli intellectuals are in favor of the European decision by which future agreements with Israel won't apply to settlements in the territories. Palestine
Islamic Clerics Oppose Lebanese Law Protecting Abused Women The death of Roula Yaacoub, a Lebanese mother of five who was beaten to death by her husband, has drawn attention to Lebanese activists’ fight to ensure women’s rights in the face of religious conservatives. Lebanon
Video of UAE Official Beating Indian Driver Sparks Debate UAE anti-defamation laws are again under scrutiny as the Indian man who filmed the assault is put in jail. United Arab Emirates
Israeli Russian Public Still on Liberman’s Side Despite the trial against former Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, or maybe because of it, the Israeli Russian public stands by him. Israel
Saving Egypt's Third Democratic Transition As Egyptians proceed with their third revolutionary transition, they might finally get it right if based on a broad national consensus and inclusivity. Egypt
Kurdish Security Forces Shield RegionFrom Iraq's Security Woes The Kurdistan Regional Government's sophisticated intelligence network has ensured relative peace in contrast to the rest of Iraq. Iraq
US Appeals Court Rejects 'Jerusalem, Israel' on Passport A US appeals court rejected an attempt by an American couple to have their son's birthplace listed as "Jerusalem, Israel" on his US passport. Palestine
Iraqi Politicians Need to Reconnect With Society Iraqi politicians local election campaigns are out of touch with the needs of the people. Iraq
Egypt's New Rulers Face Crisis With Ethiopia Over Nile Egypt has sent delegations to Ethiopia to push for a compromise on the dam project and sharing the Nile's waters. Egypt
New Muslim Brotherhood Faction Opposes Violence As violence flares again in Egypt, a new group called the Muslim Brotherhood Against Violence is struggling to find a peaceful path to compromise. Egypt
