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
No Secret Deal Behind Assir’s Escape Although many think that a secret escape deal was struck between Ahmad al-Assir and the Lebanese army, logic suggests that this is not the case. Lebanon
Iraqi Kurdish Opposition Challenges Draft Constitution With elections slated to take place in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region this fall, opposing political figures have begun to exchange accusations. Iraq
Iraqi First Deputy Speaker, From Sadr Bloc, Resigns Amid Queries The unexpected resignation of Iraqi parliamentary first deputy speaker Qusay al-Suhail has raised questions on all sides of the Iraqi political spectrum. Iraq
Bedouin Fight Israeli Relocation Bill The Israeli parliament has ratified a bill for the relocation of Bedouin from “unrecognized” settlements to permanent villages, despite objections by the Bedouin community. Israel
Syrian Government Deals With Currency Collapse The Syrian government has increased public sector employees' salaries and has kept its monthly ration coupons to counter the effects of war and sanctions on the economy. Syria
Foreign Journalists Called Conspirators in Turkish Protests Journalists working for foreign news agencies in Turkey are accused of being global conspirators to foment mass protests in accusations sometimes laced with anti-Semitism. Turkey
Israel, Arab Neighbors Hinder Palestinian Movement Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Hamas-run Gaza are all restricting the entry and exit of Palestinians from their territories. Palestine
Kerry Approaches Dead End Over Israel's Settlements US Secretary of State John Kerry risks becoming wallpaper — familiar, unobtrusive and ineffective — in a peace process that is going nowhere. Palestine
Erdogan’s 'Three Children' Campaign Alienates Women Erdogan’s "at least three children’’ campaign is no different than fighting windmills. Turkey
Hamas Deploys Forces To Prevent Rocket Fire Gaza's eastern frontier is seeing increased military activity from both Israel and Hamas as the latter seeks to clamp down on rogue rocket attacks. Palestine
Israel's Connection To the Global Village Protest The Israeli outcry against the export of natural gas is a part of the global protest against social injustice, spreading constantly through social media networking. Israel
Price-Tag Attacks: Hate, Fear Come to Abu Ghosh Israel’s lenient policy on settlers is to blame for the "price-tag" vandalism perpetrated by Jewish right-wing extremists in the Arab village of Abu Gosh, a symbol of coexistence. Palestine
