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
Al-Qaeda-Iraq Statement A Sign Of Rising Sectarian Violence In a rare public statement, al-Qaeda in Iraq has announced that it is meeting with Sunni leaders in the west of the country to join forces to fight the “Iranian Safavid gestapo.” Iraq
Is Iraq on Verge of New Civil War? Months of unrest in Iraq’s Sunni provinces, along with recent car bombings and other forms of sectarian violence, have raised concerns about another civil war. Iraq
South Yemen Activists Push For Independence Activists from the Southern Mobility Movement in Yemen claim that Sanaa is exploiting rumors of al-Qaeda activity in the south to delegitimize their cause. Yemen
Blame for Sinai Tension Also Lies in Cairo Continued violence in Sinai is prompting calls within Egypt for a revision of its treaty with Israel, but state neglect is also to blame. Egypt
Foreign Fighters Key To Decisive Battle of Qusair If there were ever a doubt, the war in Syria is now a war on Syria. Lebanon
Israeli Army Draft Law: A Victory For Lapid? New legislation mandating military service by ultra-Orthodox Jews gave Finance Minister Yair Lapid an opportunity to gain back his popularity. Israel
Street Clashes Rock Istanbul, Turkish Government Street clashs rock Istanbul, Kurds await answers to their demands, Alevis, moderate secularists and urban youths are angry, and yet the AKP is defiant. Turkey
The Trial of Avigdor Lieberman The outcome of the trial of former Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman might shake not only Israeli politics but the stability of the whole region. Israel
'Moderate Political Islam' Leading Turkey to 'Moderate Sharia' The alcohol ban admitted by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to be religiously motivated is a negative response to the question, "Is moderate political Islam compatible with democracy?” Turkey
Iran’s Youth Key to Elections Which Iranian presidential candidate will capture the urban and youth votes? Iran
Armed and Dangerous: Egyptian Court Gives Military the Vote Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court stirred controversy with its ruling to grant military officers and soldiers the right to vote. Egypt
Iraqi Kurdistan Region’s Lawyers Speak Out Against New Law Disputes emerge between lawyers in the Iraqi Kurdistan region in reaction to a new law allowing foreign lawyers to practice their profession there. Iraq
