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
Iraqi Aviation Industry Takes Off More than 10 years after the US invasion of Iraq, the country’s aviation industry is starting to show strong signs of recovery, reports Omar al-Shaher. Iraq
Hope for US-Iran Talks; Egypt in Crisis Signs of a possible breakthrough in nuclear talks with Iran in Almaty; Egypt’s crisis deepens with reports of torture by the Muslim Brotherhood; Al-Monitor’s Pulse Pages now available in Arabic, Hebrew and Turkish. Egypt
Will Israel Warm Up To Moderate Islamists? Mustafa Akyol argues that its recent apology to Turkey shows Israel can find a way toward peace with Islamists. Israel
Sheetrit: Ashkenazi Leaders Lack Negotiation Skills with Arabs In an interview with Mazal Mualem, Meir Sheetrit explains why Israel should have adopted long ago the Arab Peace Initiative. Palestine
10 Ways to Understand Iran's Nuclear Decision-Making Nabo Sanboli maintains that Western countries will not benefit if they continue to misunderstand Iran’s religious-rational approach to international issues. Iran
Is a Pan-Arab Reform Possible? Nassif Hitti asks, “Will the Arab League be able to take the road of pan-Arab economic cooperation, institutional reform and modernization?” Lebanon
No-Fly Zone Debate: Are the Patriots Up to It? Patriot missiles stationed in Turkey have been the subject of debate as officials and those on the ground consider the feasibility of enforcing a no-fly zone in Syria, writes Fernande van Tets. Syria
Jordan’s New Government: Same Old Politics While Jordan’s King Abdullah II wished for a parliamentary government, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour includes in his second-term Cabinet members who stand for more of the same, writes Osama Al Sharif. Jordan
Lessons From Land Day According to Clovis Maksoud, Land Day should remind leaders and the Arab Summit to stress Palestinians' human rights and unity. Palestine
Egyptian Salafist Considers Sinai The 'Next Frontier' The lawyer for veteran jihadist Jamal, who has been linked to the US consulate attack in Benghazi, told Al-Monitor's Mohamed Fadel Fahmy that his client called the Sinai the next frontier in the "conflict with the Zionists and Americans." Egypt
Palestinian Leadership To Master Its Own Fate The Palestinian leadership needs to have higher aspirations if it is to master its own fate in its own state, writes Geoffrey Aronson. Palestine
Arming the Syrian Opposition Is No Solution Controlling the spread of arms may not be possible if the only solution to end the bloodshed in Syria is by arming the opposition, writes Tulin Daloglu. Syria
