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
Taksim: Turkey’s Tiananmen? Can Turkey still be a role model of democracy for Arab and Islamic countries? Turkey
Erdogan’s Conspiracy Theories Contain a Paradox Erdogan is confronting the very international forces that have helped him to consolidate his rule and expand Turkey’s reach across the region. Turkey
Most Turks Do Not Support Erdogan's Syria Policy According to a recent poll, only 27.4% of Turks support their prime minister's Syria policies. Syria
Fewer Iranian Religious Tourists Are Visiting Iraq's Holy Places Economic and security concerns have led to a marked decrease in the number of Iranians visiting Iraq as religious tourists. Iraq
Hezbollah’s Youth Strategy Since its founding, Hezbollah has witnessed significant changes in its political and military structure, culminating in a new, educated generation willing to fight for the party’s cause. Lebanon
Morocco in Political Deadlock After Ruling Coalition Collapses Moroccan party Istiqlal has withdrawn from the government over a dispute with the Islamist Justice and Development Party. Originals
No Improvement in Sight For Hamas, Hezbollah Ties Hamas and Hezbollah are continuing on divergent paths concerning Syria, and the relationship will remain strained for the foreseeable future. Palestine
Rouhani Should Recast Relations in the Levant Iranian President-elect Hassan Rouhani has an opportunity to chart a new course for the region. Regional
Iraq, Kuwait Chart a New Path Settling the borders issue as a sine qua non condition for normalization between Kuwait and Iraq. Kuwait
Secret Israel-Hamas Channel Freed Gilad Shalit In a new book, Israeli academic Gershon Baskin reveals the back channel he established with Hamas that led to the release of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Palestine
Gaza Women Raise Voices Online Female activists in Gaza have turned to social media to air their thoughts, but on-the-ground activism is still constrained by a largely male-dominated society. Palestine
Bahraini Salafists in Spotlight The recent deaths of Bahraini jihadists in Syria point to the rise of radical Salafism in Bahrain. Bahrain
