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
Palestinian Groups Ponder Response to Israeli Strike in Gaza While coordinating a response to the April 30 Israeli air strike, Palestinian groups in Gaza urge respect for the cease-fire agreement signed in November 2012, writes Mohammed Suliman. Palestine
Billionaire Adelson Meets Privately With Israeli Finance Minister Lapid Mazal Mualem wonders whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should worry about Finance Minister Yair Lapid, his potential heir, who recently met with a top Netanyahu backer. Israel
Gaza’s Green Spaces Face Constant Threats In a vast project to cut down hundreds of Kenya trees near Rafah city for the expansion of the highway, Gaza’s agricultural and green spaces face constant threats, writes Asmaa al-Ghoul. Palestine
Ultra-Orthodox Conflict Threatens Secular Israeli City The secular residents of Beit Shemesh are preparing for a final battle against ultra-Orthodox inhabitants over the character of the city, reports Daniel Ben Simon. Israel
Hezbollah Leader 'Will Not Let Syria Fall' Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has said that "Syria has real friends in the region, and the world will not let Syria fall into the hands of America, Israel or [radical Islamist] groups," reports Ali Hashem from Beirut. Lebanon
Iran Has Reasons to Spoil PKK-Turkey Peace Process The Kurdistan Workers Party has announced a withdrawal from Turkey, a move that could isolate Iran and end a cease-fire between it and the PKK’s Iranian offshoot, reports Wladimir van Wilgenburg. Turkey
Arab League Land-Swap Offer Angers Palestinians The decision by the Arab League’s Washington delegation to offer a land swap to Israel has raised the ire of Palestinians, who say the move was unauthorized, reports Dalia Hatuqa. Palestine
Turkey's Constitutional 'Mayday' This year's May Day protests in Istanbul are linked to opposition to a draft constitution by the Justice and Development Party, writes Yavuz Baydar. Turkey
Fayyad Says Palestinian Leadership Must Stay Relevant, Engaged Outgoing Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad shows no sign of winding down politically in an interview with Daoud Kuttab. Palestine
The Case for an Israeli Referendum on Peace Mazal Mualem argues that a referendum law may well emerge as a useful lever for jump-starting the peace process. Palestine
Iraq Plans to Launch Satellite To Deal With Water Crisis As part of efforts to monitor desertification and growing water shortages across the country, Iraq is working to build and launch a satellite before the end of the year, writes Omar al-Shaher. Iraq
Archbishops' Abduction Should Be A Warning to Turkey The abduction of two Syrian archbishops by armed men on their way to Aleppo while returning from Turkey should be a warning to Ankara that it needs to review its security policies, writes Kadri Gursel. Syria
