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 New 'Sunni Islam' Taboo The 10-month suspended prison sentence of pianist Fazil Say on grounds of his (re)tweets is the signal for an introduction of a new taboo called “Sunni Islam” in Turkey, writes Kadri Gursel. Turkey
The Gaza Doctor’s Story On Israeli Stage The best-seller “I Shall Not Hate,” depicting the life of Ezzeldeen Abu al-Aish, "the doctor from Gaza" and bereaved Palestinian father, has been adapted for the stage at Habima national theater, Michal Aharoni reports. Palestine
Economic Peace Before a Political Solution in Israel, Palestine Following dismayed reactions to Secretary of State John Kerry’s Israel/West Bank visit, both sides debate prioritizing economic peace, writes Adnan Abu Amer. Palestine
Voter Turnout Uncertain For Iraqi Provincial Elections It is unclear what the turnout in the upcoming Iraqi provincial elections will be, with some predicting high voter turnout and others widespread apathy, writes Bushra Al Mudhafar. Iraq
Rocket Attack Could Shake Israel-Egypt Security Ties The rockets fired lately on the southern city of Eilat might force Israel to choose between the security of its citizens and keeping the peace accord with Egypt, writes Alon Ben David. Egypt
The Gap Between the US And Israel on a Nuclear Iran President Obama may not be bluffing in promising to deal with an Iranian nuclear "weapon," he just may not be hearing Israeli wishes to limit Iranian nuclear production "capability," writes Ben Caspit. Israel
EU Countries to Label Products From Israeli Settlements The European Union has taken a step closer to boycotting products made in the settlements, writes Akiva Eldar. Israel
Israel Fears Hamas PlanningArmed Action in West Bank Israel and the Palestinian Authority are growing increasingly concerned that Hamas is seeking to renew armed operations in the West Bank, Adnan Abu Amer writes. Palestine
Israeli Defense Budget Under Attack Israeli ministers Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett, champions of the social justice movement, face a challenge responding to the defense establishment campaign against budget cutbacks, writes Mazal Mualem. Israel
Mayor Plans to Limit Arab Growth in Nazareth Mayor Shimon Gapso tells Daniel Ben Simon he intends to limit the proportion of Arab residents in Upper Nazareth. Israel
Maliki Threatens Political Rivals As Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s opponents amplify their calls for a parliamentary hearing, he threatens to reveal which of them were involved in acts of terrorism, writes Mushreq Abbas. Iraq
Inside the Israeli Settlement Enterprise The illegal outpost Adei Ad in the West Bank illustrates the methods used by settlers, backed by the state, to take over Palestinian lands, writes Akiva Eldar. Palestine
