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
Israelis on Sinai Border Face Islamist Threat A once quiet border is now threatened by instability and violence from the rise of Salafist groups from Egypt. Egypt
Cairo’s ‘Little Syria’ Testimony To Despair of War More than 75,000 Syrian refugees in Egypt live on the edge, wondering if they will ever return home. Egypt
EU Boycott Contributes To Israeli Decision on Peace Talks In an Al-Monitor interview, Peace Now chair Yariv Oppenheimer says the Israeli public must force Netanyahu ''to take a historic step forward" and implement the vision of a two-state solution. Israel
The Kerry Talks: Blood, Sweat, Tears and Martin Indyk Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Chairman Abu Mazen must each realize that the other side is unable to fulfill the expected demands. Palestine
Baghdad Cafe Raids Put Sadr on the Spot The recent attacks and closures of cafes in the Karada neighborhood of Baghdad have served to shake the solid footing Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is attempting to establish in the city’s local government. Iraq
Turkey’s Syria Policy in Shambles Over Support for Jihadists A host of misjudgments by the Erdogan government about Syria, including reliance on radical Islamists, has led to new headaches for Turkey. Syria
Turkey Needs Unified Vision for Middle East Turkey needs a unified approach for governance at home before it can rebuild its foreign policy. Turkey
Hamas Concerned About Tamarod Movement in Gaza Hamas is worried that the Egyptian “rebellion” movement will migrate to Gaza. Palestine
Hezbollah Dismisses EU Terror Designation Although Hezbollah claimed indifference to the EU listing, many fear the GCC may follow suit, with negative consequences for Lebanese communities in the Gulf. Lebanon
Is Saudi Arabia Targeting Hezbollah? As attacks against Hezbollah targets escalate in Lebanon, some within the party accuse Saudi Arabia of having a direct role in the violence. Lebanon
EU Decision on Hezbollah A Signal to Iran The EU decision to add Hezbollah to its terrorism list, and the fact that the EU was keen to distinguish between Hezbollah’s military and political wings, may be part of the EU’s desire to restart negotiations with Iran. Lebanon
Tight IAEA Inspection Regime Hampers Iran's Nuclear Breakout IAEA Deputy Director Herman Nackaerts says his agency would know "within a week" if Iran tried to divert uranium for higher enrichment. Iran
