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
Is Netanyahu's Cabinet Falling Apart? The resignation of Israeli national security adviser Yaakov Amidror will jeopardize relations with Washington, at a critical moment for the diplomatic negotiations. Israel
Lebanon Threatened by Civil War In the tense few days following the clashes between followers of Salafist Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir and the Lebanese army, many are wondering what the implications for the stability of the country will be. Lebanon
Iraqis Question Costly Pensions For Parliament Members Reactions to a draft law from Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s State of Law Coalition to do away with costly MP pensions are further embroiling the Iraqi political scene in controversy. Iraq
Iraqi Political Will Lacking For New Electoral Law Most observers consider it unlikely that Iraq will consider revising its electoral law ahead of the 2014 elections. Iraq
Iran Goes After Dogs And Their Owners Iranian authorities confront more affluent Iranians who own pets. Turkey
Erdogan’s Governance Challenge Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan must navigate Turkey’s diversity and many constituencies in the current political crisis. Turkey
Netanyahu Needs New Iran Strategy Israel should recognize the opportunity presented by the election of Hassan Rouhani as president of Iran. Israel
Iraqi Politicians Find Common Ground Elusive As Iraq’s political crisis intensifies, political parties should focus on areas of agreement, not escalting differences. Iraq
Maliki’s Losses in Local Elections Reflect Failed Economic Policies Losses by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s State of Law Coalition in recent provincial elections are the result of growing frustration with failed economic policies. Iraq
Harsh Turkish Political Language Getting the Red Card in Europe Turkish politicians are finding out the hard way that the language they use at home to win populist applause is unacceptable in the European arena. Turkey
Egyptians Resist 'Brotherhoodization' The policy of Brotherhoodization of Egypt and the resistance to it. Egypt
Gaza Amusement Park Caters To Children of War Victims The popular Al-Nour amusement park offers free entry to children whose family members have been killed, wounded or arrested by Israel. Palestine
