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
Ocalan Calls For 'New Era' In Turkish-Kurdish Relations Abdullah Ocalan, imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), calls for "armed members to move out of Turkey's borders." Turkey
Dahlan Case Shows Split In Palestinian Fatah Movement The dispute over the immunity of Fatah-affiliated MP Mohamed Dahlan has revealed rifts between members of the Fatah Movement, writes Naela Khalil. Palestine
Turkey’s Kurds Rally for Peace, But Mistrust Lingers A crowd of 600,000 turned out to celebrate Newroz and hear a message from Abdullah Ocalan, imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), in support of Turkish-Kurdish peace talks, Sibel Utku Bila reports from Diyarbakir. Turkey
Lawless Sinai Becomes Flashpoint For Egypt With Israel, Hamas The growing presence of armed groups in the Sinai threatens to destabilize the area, potentially drawing Israel, Egypt and Hamas into confrontation, Noura Khouri writes. Egypt
Beirutis on Edge Over Sectarian Tensions Following the assault of four Sunni sheikhs in a suburb of Beirut on March 17, the city’s residents express their concerns over what appears to be re-emerging sectarian tensions, reports Elie Hajj. Lebanon
Palestinian Bedouin Community Battles Eviction Palestine’s ancient Bedouin community has been threatened with eviction by Israel, which plans to use their land to expand settlement operations, reports Jihan Abdalla. Palestine
Hamas Restricts Travel for Gazans The Hamas-run Ministry of Interior has recently placed new restrictions on those traveling through the Erez crossing, further limiting the movement of Gaza's residents, writes Abeer Ayyoub. Palestine
Why Obama Didn't Leave a Wreath On Arafat’s Grave Shlomi Eldar responds to Daoud Kuttab’s call to President Barack Obama to leave a wreath on Yasser Arafat’s grave. Palestine
UN to Probe Syria's Claim Of Rebel Chemical Attack A chlorine factory is at the core of the Syrian government's call for an investigation into chemical-weapons use near Aleppo, reports Nasser Chararah. Lebanon
Muslim Brotherhood Holds Sway Over Syrian Opposition Ghassan Hitto’s appointment as Syrian interim prime minister by the opposition coalition may be an attempt by Syria’s Muslim Brotherhood, Qatar and Turkey to derail Moaz al-Khatib’s dialogue initiative, writes Hassan Hassan. Syria
Mother's Day in Gaza: A Time for Sorrow As Mother’s Day nears, many Gazans are remembering their lost loved ones, reports Asmaa al-Ghoul. Palestine
Netanyahu Woos Allies on Right For Possible Peace Push Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is giving important jobs to the far-right wing of his party's Knesset members, perhaps to soften them up for diplomatic engagement with the Palestinians, Mazal Mualem suggests. Israel
