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
Israel's Use of 'Crowd Control' Weapons Faces Scrutiny Israeli forces are using "crowd-control" weapons which can severely injure or kill, Jillian Kestler-D'Amours reports. Palestine
Hamas Offers Collaborators Amnesty Hazem Balousha reports on a new Hamas campaign offering amnesty to Palestinians in Gaza who have collaborated with Israel. Palestine
Obama's Roadmap for the New Israeli Government Mazal Mualem sketches a guide to the new Israeli coalition for US Pesident Barack Obama. Israel
Iraqi Judiciary Fails Rape Victims Incidents of rape are not receiving much attention in Iraq, as political divisions and protests take center stage in the country’s media, reports Bushra Al Mudhafar. Iraq
Israel Must Integrate Ultra-Orthodox Akiva Eldar writes that Israel is being distracted from the real ultra-Orthodox issue: Integration into civil society is more urgent than being drafted into the army. Israel
Kerry to Assad, Opposition: 'Come to the Table' US Secretary of State John Kerry calls on Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad to “come to the table” to begin negotiations; the bitter springs of Tunisia and Egypt; and Gaza Salafists fight in Syria. Egypt
Women Face Same Barriers In Morsi's Egypt Yasmine Nagaty writes that the treatment of women under Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi is more of the same pattern of economic oppression experienced under Hosni Mubarak. Egypt
The Paradox of Religion In Erdogan’s Turkey Ihsan Dagi of Zaman asks whether conservatives are moving to the center; the answer is just that power is changing hands in Turkey, but not in a democratic way, writes Tulin Daloglu. Turkey
King Abdullah Seeks to Champion Jordanian Reforms King Abdullah II of Jordan is portraying himself as a champion of reform in order to head off further protests, writes Osama Al Sharif. Jordan
Israelis Develop "Business for Peace" Projects with Palestinians Ben Gurion University of the Negev invites researchers to submit proposals for its "Business for Peace" competition to support the Palestinian economy, writes Shlomi Eldar. Palestine
Turkey's Kurdish Language Policy: Learning from Europe Soner Cagaptay and Tyler Evans write that Turkey need not recognize the Kurdish language in a new constitution, but over time could develop a provision for public services in Kurdish. Turkey
Ahmadinejad Seeks Iranian Legacy Ali Hashem reports from Tehran that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad considers the candidacy of his close aide and cousin, the controversial Esfandiyar Rahim Mashaei, as key to his legacy. Iran
