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
US Complicates Turkey’s Energy Interests in Iraq, Iran US sanctions on Iran and its disapproval of energy investments in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq have complicated Turkey’s energy policies, writes Olgu Okumus. Iraq
Kurdish Group Gaining Autonomy In Northern Syria The Democratic Union Party is investing in autonomous institutions in Syrian Kurdistan while maintaining a relationship with the Syrian regime, Andrea Glioti reports from Qamishli. Syria
Are Turkey’s Orthodox Christians Waiting for Godot? Orhan Kemal Cengiz considers why the Theological School of Halki has yet to reopen. Turkey
Truce Proposal Splits Sunni Protesters in Iraq A truce proposal between Sunnis protesting in Anbar and the Iraqi government has been accepted by some Sunnis but rejected by others, reports Ali Abel Sadah. Iraq
Royce Says US Arms Not Required to Defeat Assad Ed Royce, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, tells Barbara Slavin that the US should encourage Arab allies to provide the weapons needed to help rebels oust the Syrian government. Syria
Hamas Slams Qatar, Arab League On Peace Plan Hamas, the PFLP and Islamic Jihad have angrily rejected Qatar's land-swap offer to Israel, Mohammed Suliman reports. Palestine
'Mahraganat': New Hybrid Music Wave Sweeps Egypt Ongoing turmoil in Egypt has created a vacuum that is being filled with frenetic beats in uncontrolled public spaces perfect for all-night parties, writes Mosa’ab Elshamy. Egypt
Israel's Airstrikes on Syria May Prove Costly The attack in Syria may be considered a short term military success, but in the long run it might prove costly, based upon the lessons from previous Israeli military interventions, writes Shlomi Eldar. Israel
Imbalance of Power Aids Israeli Occupation Daoud Kuttab writes that Israel's continued occupation is a result of an imbalance of power, rather than a lack of Palestinian strategy. Palestine
Erdogan Considers Israeli Strikes on Syria While the Turkish government keeps silent about the Israeli airstrikes in Syria, which may be the right course, Turkey’s regional policies hang in the balance, writes Tulin Daloglu. Israel
If Turkey Does Not Change Its Syria Policy … If Turkey doesn't change its partisan, sectarian approach to Syria, it will provoke further sectarian tensions among armed groups in Turkey and the region, writes Kadri Gursel. Syria
Is Erdogan Calling for Jihad In Turkey? Prime Minister Erdogan's May 5 speech, with its religious imagery and outrage about events in Syria, could be seen as a rallying cry for a Turkish religious obligation to fight the regime, writes Pinar Tremblay. Syria
