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
Netanyahu's Coming Makeover The only way Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can stay in power is to lead on the peace process. Israel
Unemployment Drives Graduates In Gaza to Drug Addiction Depressed by the lack of employment opportunities, many Gaza graduates are turning to the drug Tramadol as a way to escape. Palestine
Palestinian Female Prisoners Suffer Abuse in Israeli Jails Former Palestinian female prisoners in Israel recount their experiences, which often include assault at the hands of Israeli prison guards. Palestine
Politicized Verdict May Sway Brotherhood on Egypt NGO Law International backlash against a draft law strictly regulating NGOs in Egypt could dissuade the Muslim Brotherhood from pursuing the initiative. Egypt
Palestinians Tormented At Rafah Crossing A first-hand account reveals the extraordinary difficulties facing Palestinians at the Rafah crossing on the Egypt-Gaza border. Palestine
Israel, Netanyahu Keep Up Appearances on Two-State Solution Will Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu rebuke Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon for his remarks that israel is uninterested in a two-state solution? Israel
Egyptian Opposition Expects Violent Clashes on June 30 The feeling on Cairo’s streets is that the one-year anniversary of President Mohammed Morsi’s rule will result in violent confrontations. Egypt
Gezi Park Protests May Be Erdogan's Election Investment Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan may be exploiting street protests to divide people to prepare for elections Turkey
Richard Falk Will Not Be Another Richard Goldstone UN human rights investigator Richard Falk suggests that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has joined pro-Israel UN Watch in defamatory remarks against him. Palestine
Self-Immolation Continues Among Iraqi Kurdish Women Despite improvements in the condition of women under the Kurdistan Regional Government, cases of self-burning by Iraqi Kurdish women still take place. Iraq
Lebanon Seeks to Make The Most of Hydrocarbons Lebanon seeks to avoid a false euphoria and make the most of a potential oil and gas windfall. Lebanon
Lebanon’s Taif Agreement Needs Revision The Taif Agreement is still the key to Lebanon’s political compact, although it should be reviewed and amended. Lebanon
