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
Turkey’s Foreign-Aid Priority Is Central Asia The Turkish International Development and Cooperation Agency (TIKA) still devotes most of its private aid to the Caucasus and Central Asia countries. Turkey
Sadr Gives Maliki 'Final Warning' Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr has issued a warning to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to withdraw militants from the streets amid a series of devastating car bombings throughout Iraq. Iraq
Turkey’s Kurdish Policies Complicate Ties With Iran, Iraq Turkey’s Kurdish policies are developing at the expense of its ties with Iran and Iraq. Iraq
Syrians in Israeli-Occupied Golan Remain Divided on Assad While Syrian President Bashar al-Assad enjoys considerable support from Golan Syrians under Israeli occupation, many are speaking up against his rule. Israel
Is Egypt’s Shura Council Constitutional? Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court will soon make a decision on the country’s only functioning legislative body. Egypt
Syria’s War Impacts Turkish Alevis Syria’s sectarian conflict is spilling over into Turkey’s Alevi community. Syria
Lebanon: Fault Line for Hezbollah's War on 'Takfiris' in Syria Just hours after Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah announced that his party was fighting “takfiris” in Syria, two rockets struck a Shiite neighborhood in Beirut, suggesting that those “takfiris” might have military capabilities in Lebanon. Lebanon
Palestinian Activists Seek New Strategies to Confront Israel Palestinian activists look for alternatives to international law to hold Israel accountable for its settlement policies. Palestine
Hamas Asks Egypt To 'Re-Evaluate' Camp David Accords Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh has called on Egypt to "re-evaluate" Camp David in the context of a comprehensive security plan for Sinai. Palestine
Hamas Official: 'Islamization' A Western Media Smear Hamas government official Ihab al-Ghussein denies in an interview that his movement is imposing Islamic law on the Gaza Strip. Palestine
Did Kerry Offer Palestinians An Airport? Rumors that US Secretary of State John Kerry offered the Palestinians a new airport has brought the issue of restrictions on Palestinian movement back into the spotlight. Palestine
Sectarian War a Two-Way Street For Iraq and Syria What lessons do Syria’s Alawites learn from the experience of the Sunnis in Iraq? Iraq
