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
In Libya, Militias Rule The collapse of Libya’s intelligence and security sectors requires urgent reform. Turkey
Egypt’s Police Prepare For Violent Protests on June 30 Expectations grow for widespread violent clashes on the one-year anniversary of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi coming to power. Egypt
Women Will Decide Extent Of Turkey's Religiosity Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been using religious symbols in his rallies, giving the wrong impression internationally and raising concerns about Turkey's religious turn. Turkey
Turkey’s Deepening Polarization A recent poll shows declining support for Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and AKP policies. Turkey
Erdogan’s Hubris Syndrome Is there a strategy behind Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s polarizing, hard-line policies? Turkey
In Ramallah, Israeli Journalists Meet With Palestinian Leadership In a talk with Israeli journalists in Ramallah, senior Palestinian official Nabil Shaath declared that the current Israeli coalition will not permit jump-starting the negotiations. Palestine
Israel Should Give Rouhani a Chance The election of Hassan Rouhani as Iran's next president proves that the Iranian people seek change. Israel
Political Alliances Shift in Baghdad An Iraqi alliance bringing together Sunni and Shiite parties has succeeded in forming the local government in Baghdad without the participation of the prime minister's State of Law Coalition. Iraq
Israeli Public Veers Left Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reeling from the loss of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president of Iran and a recent poll signaling Israelis are tiring of settlement policies. Israel
Rouhani, Iran Key To Political Solution in Syria Inviting Iran to the Geneva II conference on Syria would be an encouraging gesture from Washington, supporting President-elect Hassan Rouhani in his moderate stance. Iran
Lebanon’s Political Crisis Set to Worsen With Lebanon’s Constitutional Council set to end this week, and as parliament has extended its own mandate, some fear the country’s political crisis is about to get worse. Lebanon
Iran’s Housing Crisis President-elect Hassan Rouhani must tackle a seemingly intractable crisis in Iran’s housing sector. Iran
