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
Iraqi Kurdistan Offers Loans to Tourism Sector To keep up with its quickly growing tourism sector, the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government has begun offering loans to those wishing to build hotels and other touristic facilities. Iraq
Israeli Deputy: 'Abu Mazen Is a Political Corpse' Israeli Deputy Interior Minister Faina Kirshenbaum states that Palestinian Chairman Abu Mazen has no internal legitimacy to negotiate an agreement which will include the Gaza Strip. Palestine
Bibi’s Choice: Make Peace Or Lose the Right Wing If Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is sincere in seeking an agreement with the Palestinians, he must distance himself from his party's extreme right-wing faction that opposes peace. Palestine
Erdogan Confronts Himself Over Protests Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is more challenged by policies of his own making than his political opposition. Turkey
Lebanese Shiites' Divisions Intensify Over Syria The murder of a student leader of an anti-Hezbollah Shiite group has served as a reminder of historical and shifting divisions within Lebanon’s Shiite community. Lebanon
Syria's rebels in rift with Aleppo's civil opposition Aleppo's civil opposition has been swept aside as hard-line armed groups assert their power in the city. Syria
Morsi Attacks Opposition, Further Infuriates Egyptians In a highly anticipated speech, President Morsi offered little new on national reconciliation and confirmed to his opponents that he is incapable of confronting the worsening challenges the country faces. Egypt
Erekat: No Plans for Kerry, Abu Mazen, Netanyahu Summit Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is stuck between US Secretary of State John Kerry and the Palestinian street. Palestine
Harsh Reality of Israeli Occupation Persists in Spite of Kerry's Efforts Weekly protests in West Bank villages against the Israeli occupation continue, with little hope that Kerry’s initiative will bring positive results. Palestine
Egypt’s Gas Shortage Fuels June 30 Protests Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi provided neither political nor economic answers in his June 26 speech. Egypt
Israel, Hamas Watching Change of Leaders in Qatar Israel closely follows the change of leadership in Qatar, and the impact of the change on the Arab Peace Initiative. Qatar
Neo-Sunni Alliance Accentuates Regional Sectarian Conflict The Syrian crisis has deepened sectarian divisions in the region. Pan Arab
