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
Hezbollah Probes Detente With Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood Hezbollah leaders look to improve relations Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, or at least refrain from criticism, while emphasizing their shared interests, writes Nasser Chararah. Egypt
Women Challenge Saudi State Within a State Women's protests against Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Interior have brought to light the extraordinary power this ministry enjoys in the kingdom, Madawi al-Rasheed writes. Saudi Arabia
Mistreatment of Palestinian Inmates Provokes More Anger, Protests Arafat Jaradat is not the first Palestinian to die in Israeli prisons, highlighting Israel's general mistreatment of Palestinian detainees, Linah Alsaafin writes. Palestine
Exclusive: Hamas OfficialPredicts Third Intifada Salah Bardawil, senior Hamas leader and member of parliament, in an exclusive interview with Abeer Ayyoub, warns that if President Barack Obama visits the al-Aqsa Mosque with Israeli security, "it will result in the biggest political disaster in the history of Palestinian-American relations." Palestine
Qatar Offers 'GCC+1' to Include Iran At a recent forum in Kuwait, high-ranking Qatari officials proposed the formation of a new organization comprising the GCC and Iran, writes Nassif Hitti. Qatar
Knesset Member Ahmad Tibi On Prospects for 'Armed Intifada' Knesset Member Ahmad Tibi, in an exclusive interview with Mazal Mualem, says that while there is a general consensus opposing an "armed intifada" by Palestinians, the situation is explosive and will deteriorate without diplomatic measures. Palestine
Tunisian Turmoil Threatens Local Jewish Community The desecration of an ancient Jewish cemetery in Sousse has brought back long-forgotten memories and fears of anti-Semitism in Tunisia, writes Jacky Hugi. Israel
Nasrallah Sends Message on Syria Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah disproved rumors he is sick and delivered a message to Lebanon’s leaders on Syria and the electoral law issue, writes Ali Hashem. Lebanon
Iran Sanctions Relief: What It Means Samuel Cutler and Erich Ferrari explain how the Obama administration would implement the reported sanctions relief proposed to Iran by the P5+1 at the Almaty talks. Iran
More Military Arrests in Turkey For 'Feb. 28 Process' As Turkey marks the 16th anniversary of its alleged "modern coup," two more generals are called to testify regarding the Feb. 28 event. Turkey
Europe Holds No Promise For the Middle East The EU foreign policy for the Middle East is paralyzed, concludes Akiva Eldar, after spending three days in the organization’s Brussels headquarters. Israel
Israel Should Reconsider Administrative Law Israel doesn’t understand the depth of the problem but, as Shlomi Eldar determines, the issue of Palestinian prisoners in Israel is the Achilles heel of any peace agreement and could set the region on fire again. Palestine
