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
Sinai Continues to Simmer, Threatens to Boil Over Tensions are running high in the Sinai between supporters of President Mohammed Morsi and Islamist forces disillusioned by his failure to implement sharia. Egypt
Iraqi Defense Ministry Asks KRG To Return Saddam-Era Weapons The Iraqi Ministry of Defense has filed a lawsuit against the Kurdistan Regional Government, claiming that the latter has failed to return Saddam-era weapons and military equipment. Iraq
Can Israel's Settlers Be Persuaded To Exit the Occupied Territories? Yedidia Stern, a religious Jew, believes that Israelis are finally ready to make a democratic decision on the fate of the territories. Palestine
Israel Cancels East Jerusalem Puppet Festival Israeli Minister of Internal Security Yitzhak Aharonovitch canceled the Jerusalem puppet festival, a major cultural event enjoyed by underprivileged Palestinian children of east Jerusalem. Israel
Turkey Protest Violence All Too Familiar to Kurds Media coverage of police brutality in the Istanbul protests presents an opportunity for the country to address the violence Kurds have faced for decades. Turkey
Alicia Keys Going Ahead with Performance in Israel The singer joined the ranks of Madonna, Alanis Morissette and Macy Gray by going ahead with her planned performance in Israel on July 4. Palestine
'Arab Idol' Star Takes Jerusalem, Without Being There Mohammed Assaf has won the accolades of the Palestinian leadership and people, who are searching for a role model. Palestine
Why Kerry Wants a Fast Reboot Of Israeli-Palestinian Peace Talks US Secretary of State John Kerry wants a quick resumption of Mideast peace talks, hoping to elicit some flexibility from Israel and to head off UN countermeasures by the Palestinians. Palestine
Will Erdogan Go to Gaza? Despite Hamas' statement that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will travel to Gaza on July 5, questions remain as to whether the trip will actually take place. Turkey
Who Will Be in Rouhani’s Cabinet? Tehran is abuzz with speculation about who will be in the next Iranian government. Iran
Exclusive: Hamas Official Discusses Decline of Iranian Support Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya discusses the party’s loss of Iranian support and the possibility of its truce with Israel unravelling. Palestine
Iraqis React to Lynchings in Egypt The lynching of Shiites in Egypt demonstrates just how far-reaching sectarian tensions in the Middle East and the Arab world have become. Egypt
