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
Iranian Youth Hedge Hopes on Rouhani Iranian youth, who voted in large numbers for Hassan Rouhani for president, are mixed on whether he can deliver on Iran’s economy. Iran
Production-Sharing Contracts Could Help Renew Iran Oil Market Iran is changing its oil contracts to try to overcome sanctions and compete with Iraq. Iran
Lebanese Expert: Constitutional Council Must Be Restructured Speaking to Al-Monitor, Mahfouz Skina, a former adviser to Lebanon’s State Council, comments on the country’s political crisis and says the Constitutional Council must be restructured. Lebanon
The Decline of Iran’s Hard-Liners The election of Hassan Rouhani as president of Iran has revealed Iran's Principlist camp as a house of cards. Iran
Hamdallah's Role Lacked Legitimacy The resignation of Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah has exposed the lack of legitimacy of a prime minister not appointed through a democratic process. Palestine
The Pakistani Test Of the Israel-India Partnership The recent controversy over potential Israeli arms sales to Pakistan is unlikely to undermine the Israel-India partnership. Israel
Sinai Tribes Reject Morsi’s Call To Surrender Weapons Sinai tribes refuse Morsi's call to surrender weapons before longstanding community issues are resolved. Egypt
What Are Rouhani’s Critics Afraid of? Attacks on Hassan Rouhani since his election seem inspired less by outrage at his record than by fear that the United States and Iran will achieve some accommodation in nuclear talks. Iran
Syria in 'Free Fall' Edward Dark describes the despair in both Aleppo and a Syrian prison; Syria is in “free fall,” according to the chairman of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria. Israel
Erdogan Unifying His Opposition Turkish Prime Minster Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s best option is democratization. Turkey
Geneva II: A Chance to End Syria’s Tragedy There is hope that the Geneva II conference can help stem Syria's bloodshed. Lebanon
Turkey’s Democratic Growing Pains The Gezi Park protests may in the end serve to strengthen Turkish democracy. Turkey
