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
Lebanon Premier's Resignation Exposes Lebanon to Instability Lebanon's prime minister has resigned after two difficult years in office, opening the door to further instability in the country, writes Ali Hashem. Lebanon
Mikati’s Resignation Puts Lebanon At a Crossroads After two prior threats to quit, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati resigned, leaving Lebanon with its third power vacuum in 25 years, writes Jean Aziz Lebanon
Mikati Bites The Bullet, Resigns Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced his resignation, in a move many attribute to his government's inability to hold parliamentary elections on schedule, writes Elie Hajj. Lebanon
Differences Deepen Between Iraqi Kurdish Parties Differences between the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan are coming to the surface, Abdel Hamid Zebari writes. Iraq
Declining OPEC Leverage Predicted in BP Forecast Growing energy production and diversification in the United States could make the US 99% energy sufficient by 2030, decreasing OPEC’s leverage over oil prices. Pan Arab
Israeli, Norwegian Tourists Kidnapped in Egyptian Sinai The kidnapping of an Israeli man and Norwegian woman in Egypt's Sinai peninsula occurs as the Egyptian government has undertaken a "highly secretive operation" to secure the region, writes Mohamed Fadel Fahmy from Cairo. Egypt
Obama Brokers Apology From Netanyahu to Erdogan Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accepted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s apology over the Mavi Marmara incident, reports Tulin Daloglu. Turkey
Mixed Reactions in Bethlehem To President Obama's Visit Daoud Kuttab reports on US President Barack Obama’s visit to Bethlehem, and the people's mixed reaction. Palestine
What Begin Would Have Told Obama Shlomi Eldar considers what a meeting between former Prime Minister Menachem Begin and current US president Barack Obama would have looked like, being reminded of Begin’s meetings with President Jimmy Carter, which paved the way for a peace agreement with Egypt. Israel
Obama Connects With Israeli Youth Just as fascinating as the messages Obama conveyed at the Israeli Convention Center in Jerusalem was the way they were received by the young audience, writes Mazal Mualem. Israel
Obama in Israel: Worth The Wait President Barack Obama knew what buttons to push during his visit to Israel, though his real task is not to preach to the converted, as he did in his “Jerusalem speech,” but to convince the skeptics, writes Ben Caspit. Israel
Erdogan’s Other Kurdish Problem Denise Natali writes that there is a large gap between what Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan can deliver and what average Kurds expect from the Imrali peace talks. Turkey
