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
Tunisia's Turbulent Politics On Display at Public Forum At a public debate in Tunis, the challenges of governance for the Ennahda party were on display. Originals
Misunderstanding Israeli Missile Defense Despite the Israeli consensus on missile defense, the core of Israeli strategy remains an offensive deterrent posture, writes Jean-Loup Samaan. Israel
Netanyahu’s Best Bet: Coalition with Lapid and Bennett Mazal Mualem writes that if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can rid himself of his fears, he may discover that the government lineup being forced upon him might be best for Israel — and perhaps even best for himself. Israel
Lapid-Bennett Alliance Shakes Up Israeli Politics It isn't clear how long the alliance between Yesh Atid head Yair Lapid and HaBayit HaYehudi leader Naftali Bennett will last, writes Ben Caspit, but the alliance is already changing the face of Israeli politics. Israel
Media Pushes Back On Erdogan Pressure Derya Sazak, the executive editor of Milliyet, one of Turkey's most respected dailies, threatened a walkout to defy government pressure, writes Tulin Daloglu. Turkey
Maliki Seeks to Improve Ties With Egypt Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has held meetings with his Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood counterpart, Hesham Kandil, in a bid to rebuild ties, but challenges remain, writes Ali Abel Sadah. Egypt
Israeli Road Project Increases Tensions on Lebanon Border Israel plans to build a road near the Lebanese border and the Wazzani River, the site of many conflicts and confrontations in the past, reports Nasser Chararah. Lebanon
UAE Bars Foreign Journalists From Trial The UAE has barred foreign journalists from covering the sedition trial of 94 Emiratis accused of sedition, writes Matt Duffy. United Arab Emirates
Just How Tolerant Are Turks? Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s remarks about Zionism provide a catalyst for analyzing whether Turks are generally insensitive toward any kind of minority rights in Turkey, writes Semih Idiz. Turkey
Muqtada al-Sadr Attacks Iraq's Integrity Committee The Iraqi Commission of Integrity has become the latest target in Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr’s campaign against Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in a dispute that began in 2008, writes Ali Abel Sadah. Iraq
Morsi Faces Challenge From Islamist, Salafist Parties Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi will face challenges from Islamist, including Salafist, parties in the upcoming elections, which secular parties plan to boycott writes Jahd Khalil from Cairo. Egypt
War Takes Psychological Toll On Gaza's Children Rates of serious mental-health disorders among children and others in Gaza have risen dramatically as years of fighting have taken their toll, observes Asmaa al-Ghoul. Palestine
