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
Israel Needs 'Neutral Bunker' Policy In the face of recent turmoil and intense violence in the Middle East, the best choice for Israel is to stay out of the conflicts — or more precisely, be neutral. Israel
Egypt Punishes Gaza During Ramadan Ramadan has lost its holy meaning for thousands of Palestinians suffering due to Egypt's decision to close its border with Gaza. Palestine
Hezbollah Regions Targeted As Syria War Spreads to Lebanon Amid rising sectarian tensions and following Hezbollah’s decision to fight in Syria's civil war, attacks against Hezbollah-controlled regions throughout Lebanon have increased. Lebanon
Israeli Arabs Watch Egypt From Awkward Vantage Egypt's popular revolution is making Israel an oasis of stability in the region, leaving Israeli Arabs torn. Israel
EU Stance on Settlements Pleases Palestinians Palestinian efforts to obtain support from the European Union bore fruit this week with the adoption of economic sanctions against the settlements. Palestine
Maid in Saudi Arabia Human trafficking and abuse of domestic workers continue in the kingdom. Saudi Arabia
Why Turkey Has 'Anti-Capitalist Muslims' İhsan Eliaçık, the group's leader, believes that the Islamic duty is not just caring for the poor, but overthrowing the capitalist “system” that he thinks makes them poor. Turkey
Gaza Hospitals Suffering Due To Border Closure with Egypt Egypt's closure of the border tunnels is hampering the ability of Gaza's health sector to treat those in need. Palestine
Turkey’s 'Erdogan Problem' Although Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared in September 2012 that he won’t run for parliamentary office again, his decisions on his next step will determine the future of Turkish politics. Turkey
Erdogan Flips on Turkey’s 'Interest Lobby' Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had blamed the “interest lobby,” or domestic and foreign financial institutions, for the Gezi Park protests, but now he is raising interest rates. Turkey
Erdogan’s Muddled Plan For Yassiada Memorial Erdogan uses a historical tragedy to initiate a profit-oriented project on Yassiada Island, the symbol of the 1960 coup that resulted in the execution of then-premier Adnan Menderes, the man Erdogan idolizes. Turkey
