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
Media War Begins Ahead of Iraqi Kurdistan Elections A media war is taking place ahead of regional elections in Iraqi Kurdistan, writes Abdel Hamid Zebari. Iraq
Palestinian Student Elections Show Support for Hamas Student elections at Palestinian universities showed wide support for Islamist movements, writes Adnan Abu Amer. Palestine
Egyptians Show High Interest In Israeli Literature, Culture Jacky Hugi writes that the study of the Hebrew language and its literature is widespread in Cairo's universities. Egypt
Iraq Ports See Influx Of 'Mediocre Products' The authority in charge of Iraq’s southern ports has increased inspections on imports after it was revealed that the ports have become a "warehouse for mediocre products," reports Omar al-Shaher. Iraq
Is Fayyad’s Resignation A Wake-up Call for Israel? The resignation of Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad plays into the hands of Hamas, jeopardizing the Palestinian Authority and the two-state solution, warns Akiva Eldar. Palestine
Iraq's Anti-Terrorism Law Criticized Iraq’s anti-terrorism law has been criticized by Amnesty International and by many Iraqis, but the Iraqi government seems to be using the criticisms to promote a "tough on terrorism" image, writes Mushreq Abbas. Iraq
Iraqi Security Forces Cannot Stop Terrorism Mustafa al-Kadhimi asks how terrorists can operate with such impunity throughout Iraq, given that al-Qaeda is supposedly "besieged," and given the presence of numerous checkpoints throughout the country. Iraq
Gaza Zoo Still Attracts Children Despite repeated closures, financial difficulties and the loss of expensive animals during times of war, Gaza’s zoo continues to function, writes Asmaa al-Ghoul. Palestine
When Netanyahu Met Kerry,One Year From Now Ben Caspit argues that one year from now, on Israel's next Independence Day, the political stagnation and lack of negotiations in the Middle East will still persist. Palestine
Is Syria Moving Toward Partition? There have been indications in recent weeks that Syria is moving toward partition, writes Jean Aziz. Lebanon
Erdogan Asks 'Wise People' To Make Case for Peace Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has chosen a delegation of "Wise People" to convince Turkish citizens about the benefits of his Kurdish peace plan, writes Kadri Gursel. Turkey
Unique Memorial Ceremony Unites Israelis, Palestinians Akiva Eldar took part in an alternative Memorial Day ceremony where Israeli and Palestinian bereaved families shared their pain and their hopes for a better future. Palestine
