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
Coup in Egypt Strategic Loss For Erdogan The Egyptian military coup that overthrew Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi is a blow to Turkey’s regional strategy under the AKP government. Egypt
A New Era for Egypt Though Mohammed Morsi was the legitimate, elected president of Egypt, he quickly lost actual popular legitimacy by isolating large segments of the Egyptian population. Egypt
Is Deal on Palestinian Prisoners Key to Peace Talks? Negotiations over pre-1993 Palestinian prisoners might break the deadlock between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Palestine
AKP Comes Unhinged In Response to Critical Media Is Turkey losing its bearings by denouncing independent media, including Al-Monitor, as “subcontractors for the Zionist lobby?" Turkey
Morsi Never Had a Chance There isn’t a politician in the world who can provide for the “will of the people” in post-revolutionary Egypt, because the people’s demands are excessive and impossible to fulfill. Egypt
Does Morsi's Fall Mark Failure of Islamism? The decades-old ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood has failed its test as a mode of governance in a modern state. Palestine
Assir Crisis Reflects Deeper Lebanese Divide Although the Lebanese army successfully eliminated Salafist Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir, the societal divide that led to his emergence remains. Lebanon
Israel Hopes the US Will Learn From Egypt The Israeli political class, gathered for the Fourth of July reception, voiced hopes that the Obama administration learns from its mistakes in US policy and starts recognizing pockets of hope where they emerge. Egypt
Iraqi Parliament Prepares Battery Of New Legislation Amid ongoing controversy, the Iraqi parliament is preparing to pass three different laws dealing with criminalizing the Baath Party and regulations for the court and political parties. Iraq
Idea of Palestinian People 'Big Lie,' Says Israeli MP Zvulun Kalfa, a new Knesset Member from the Yehudi party list, vows to undermine the peace efforts of US Secretary of State John Kerry. Israel
Was Morsi's Ouster a Coup Or New Egyptian Revolution? Egypt’s new uprising has for now delivered what the people wanted, and they know they can do it again, if necessary. Egypt
Morsi Regime Figures ArrestedAs Interim President Takes Oath As a new president took power in the name of the people, Egyptian authorities began arresting about 300 leaders and supporters of Mohammed Morsi's regime. Egypt
