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
Israelis Still Attached To Their Jewish-Berber Identity French-Moroccan film director Kamal Hachkar reveals Morocco’s Jewish past in a moving documentary. Israel
Poll Shows Hezbollah Losing Support Among Palestinians The decline of Hezbollah's public image in the Palestinian territories is attributed to its support for the Syrian government. Palestine
Egypt's Musicians: Revolutionaries Or Opportunists? As Egyptians prepare for massive protests on June 30, the nation's musicians debate their role in the revolution. Egypt
Before Piling on New Sanctions, Give Rouhani a Chance The election of Hassan Rouhani as president of Iran may be a diplomatic opening to prevent an Iranian nuclear weapon, so the US Congress should not undermine it with more sanctions. Iran
Can June 30 End Well for Egypt? Expected mass protests on June 30 could lead to a variety of scenarios for Egypt. Egypt
Palestinian Stock ExchangeHas Potential to Grow Despite worsening economic conditions due to the political climate, there are several positive indicators for the Palestinian Stock Exchange. Palestine
Lebanon's Assir Gone, But Problems Remain While the Lebanese army has successfully booted Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir from the city of Sidon, the popular divide that allowed for his movement's growth persists. Lebanon
Syrians Add to Yemen Refugee Crisis As with a previous wave of refugees that fled from Syria to Yemen during former Syrian President Hafez al-Assad's reign in the 1980s, Syrian refugees arriving there today find political, economic and security instability. Yemen
Egypt on Precipice? Moving Beyond Crisis Egypt faces the precipice on the eve of the June 30 protests. Egypt
Erdogan's Carrot-and-Stick Approach To Protests a Loser Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan should seek inclusive policies, not engage in witch hunts. Turkey
Turkey’s Opposition Faces Leadership Crisis After Protests The winds of hope raised by Kemal Dervis’ entry into politics in 2002 and those raised by the Gezi Park protesters looked alike from the surface, and they may share the same fate in the end. Turkey
Turkish Protests Provide Electroshock to EU Ties The Gezi Park protest brought Turkey-EU ties to the brink of collapse, but at the same time had the impact of “electroshock therapy” on Turkey’s stalled accession process. Turkey
