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
New Poll on Iranian Election Shows Rouhani as Front-Runner Iran's presidential candidate Hassan Rouhani's outspokenness on important issues could propel him to the presidency at the last minute. Iran
Assad Not Backing Down Syrian President Bashar al-Assad believes his is the winning side, and that says his government is ready to participate in the Geneva II peace conference. Syria
Comics Make Egyptians Smile Regardless of Politics Asa7be started its crusade with a series addressing sexual harassment and has since become a prevalent source of release and laughter in post-revolutionary Egypt. Egypt
Former Israeli Defense Minister: IDF Must Cut Its Ground Force Based on his experience during the Second Lebanon War, former Defense Minister Amir Peretz calls for Israel to “re-examine the scope of the IDF ground or naval forces.” Israel
Netanyahu's Dysfunctional Coalition While still within the 100 days of grace since its establishment, it can hardly be said that grace characterizes the new Israeli coalition, embroiled in an “all-out war.” Israel
Old Turkey? New Turkey?Meet the 'Newest Turkey' The May 31 social explosion has revealed a sparkling new combative, libertarian youth undergoing politicization based on freedoms. Turkey
Jordanian Media Licensing Law Shuts Down 300 Websites A new media licensing law has caused a blackout among independent news sites in Jordan. Palestine
Moroccan King Declines to Meet With Erdogan As protests continue across Turkey, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan went on a North Africa tour to strengthen economic ties. Turkey
A Look at Gaza, 46 Years After Six-Day War The actions by Israeli administrations since 1967 obligate Israel's citizens to learn the lesson of humility befitting the victorious. Palestine
Qusair Victory Could Prove Fateful for Hezbollah's Future The events that unfolded in the three-week battle for Qusair will prove fateful for the future role of Hezbollah in the Syrian, as well as regional, conflict. Lebanon
FSA Commander Speaks From Qusair Just Before Its Fall Just hours before the Syrian army retook control of the town of Qusair, Al-Monitor spoke with an opposition commander about the ongoing battle and Hezbollah’s role in the fighting. Lebanon
