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
Kerry Plan Focuses on Jordan Valley US Secretary of State John Kerry’s proposed economic plan for the West Bank appears to be focused on turning over large parts of the Jordan Valley to direct Palestinian rule. Palestine
Is There Really a Turkish 'Jihad' Against Alcohol? No, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is not waging a jihad on alcohol in Turkey. A response to Kadri Gursel. Turkey
Erdogan Denies He Is a King Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s authoritarian tendencies are starting to draw some worrying historical comparisons. Turkey
'Islamization' Reveals Gap Between Hamas Government, Movement In the first of a three-part series, Asmaa al-Ghoul examines the relationship between Hamas the movement and Hamas the government amid concerns over "Islamization" in Gaza. Palestine
Israeli Apathy Defeats The Arab Peace Initiative The Israeli right wing has succeeded in rendering the public apathetic and lethargic about any proposal to end the conflict, including the Arab Peace Initiative. Palestine
Kerry Plan Ignores Palestinian Economic Independence The economic plan brought forward by US Secretary of State John Kerry still keeps the Palestinian economy dependent on Israel. Palestine
Political Dimension Remains Central in Kerry Approach to Peace Despite the importance of the economic dimension of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the political dimension of the approach to peace remains paramount. Palestine
Yemen's Real Blackout The transitional government in Sanaa appears to be repeating past mistakes and approaches in dealing with southern secessionist movements. Yemen
Tehran Mayor a Powerful Contender For Iran’s Presidency Tehran Mayor Mohammad Ghalibaf has a good shot at succeeding Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Turkey
Islamization of Istanbul Continues Istanbul might think twice about celebrating both "Conquest Day" and democracy in Turkey. Turkey
Erdogan’s Accusation of CHP Goes Too Far Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan might have crossed a red line by accusing the CHP of being directly responsible in the May 11 Reyhanli blasts that left 52 dead. Syria
'Jewish Home' Party Against Arab Draft Knesset member Yoni Chetboun opposes (clearly and repeatedly) the drafting of Israeli Arabs to the army: ''I don't want an Arab in IDF uniform.'' Israel
