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
Kerry’s Trip to the Middle East: A Failure Foretold US Secretary of State John Kerry failed to understand that Israeli and Palestinian leaders are both currently tied to public opinions and cannot make the necessary concessions. Palestine
What Did Turkey Lose When EU Lost Nabucco? Turkey has lost an opportunity to redefine the implicit rules of the energy sector for itself and other transit countries. Turkey
Gaza’s Polluted Beach Only Escape From Heat Gaza’s beach is a respite from the heat and power outages, but also a microcosm of Gaza’s challenges. Palestine
Egyptian Police on Fence In Confrontation With Morsi Egypt’s security forces will be decisive in the present crisis. Egypt
It's the Egyptian Identity, Stupid The first Egyptian revolution was about freedom, justice and dignity, but the new wave of protests is about defending Egyptian identity. Egypt
New Evidence Links Benghazi Attack to Anti-Muslim Movie The video was a catalyst for the attack on the US Consulate on Sept. 11, 2012, which killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three others. Originals
Israel Cautiously Optimistic On Egypt Israel hopes that the blow to the Muslim Brotherhood will also be a blow to Hamas. Egypt
Israeli Wall Creates Limbo For Seam Zone Palestinians Palestinians living between Israel's separation barrier and the Green Line are cut off from the rest of the West Bank and deprived of basic services. Palestine
Can Morsi, Brotherhood Survive? Continued massive protests are scheduled for July 2, demanding the stepping down of Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood from power. Egypt
Will Sheikh Tamim Rebalance Qatar’s Foreign Policy? In the first article of a two-part series, Qatar’s new emir will likely follow his father's course, but Qatar’s may be forced to adjust its approach to international affairs. Qatar
Turkey's Political Fallout On Iraqi Kurdish Crude Relying upon Ankara as a sole energy transit route without an agreement with Baghdad may further delay the Kurdistan Region’s energy production potential. Iraq
Egypt’s Military Steps In, Issues Ultimatum The Egyptian military threatens intervention if issues between protesters and the government are not resolved within 48 hours. Egypt
