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
Algerian Law Allows Terrorists To Repent, Rejoin Society Algeria’s Civil Concord Law, which seeks to reintegrate reformed terrorists into society, continues to be a topic of controversy 14 years after its ratification, writes Kaci Racelma. Culture & Society
Nasrallah Increases Stakes in Syria War Famous for his use of allusions and nuance, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah spoke with an unusual clarity and directness on May 9 about Syria, writes Scarlett Haddad. Israel
PKK's Withdrawal From Turkey Shows Peace Process On Track Murat Karayilan, a leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), is taking the peace file with Turkey from imprisoned Abdullah Ocalan, signaling normalization of the process, writes Kadri Gursel. Iraq
Will Syria Retaliate For Israeli Airstrikes? If Syria is going to retaliate for Israeli's recent strikes, it is unlikely to do so soon, alone or in a manner that would lead to a comprehensive war, observes Haytham Mouzahem in an examination of official statements. Israel
Gaza Salafists Accuse Hamas Of Harassment, Torture Salafist prisoners in Gaza have reportedly begun a hunger strike in protest against their detention and continued harassment by Hamas authorities, Mohammed Suliman reports. Palestine
Netanyahu's Chinese Wall On an official visit to Beijing, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to convince China that a nuclear Iran threatens the stability of not only the Middle East, but also the global energy market, writes Ben Caspit. Israel
The Airstrikes in Syria: Winners and Losers A week has passed since the airstrikes in Syria, making it a good time to take stock of the situation from Israeli, Syrian, Hezbollah and Iranian perspectives, writes Yoav Limor. Israel
Hezbollah's Russian Connection Jean Aziz asks whether Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah has reassured his base following two televised speeches in nine days. Lebanon
US Arms Sales All About Iran The novelty of the latest US arms sales to Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates was not their scale or content, but the sign of a US realignment of allies to deter Iran, explains Jean-Loup Samaan. Saudi Arabia
Report Calls for New EU ApproachTo Israel, Peace Process A new European report urges the EU to toughen its stance on Israel and push it toward a two-state solution, reports Daoud Kuttab. Palestine
Egypt’s Christians Hope for a Better Future Egypt’s Coptic community was relieved that Easter passed this month without incident, although many worry about trends under the Muslim Brotherhood, writes Zenobia Azeem. Egypt
Floods Cause Severe Damage In Southern Iraq Southern Iraq has been hit with heavy rains for the past week, resulting in significant human and material losses. Iraq
