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
Egypt's 'Spoilers' Threaten Democracy Omar Ashour writes on the necessity to contain "spoilers" — the disaffected political forces that are threatening Egypt’s democratization. Palestine
Prisoner X, the Mossad andThe Futility of Censorship Yossi Melman reviews the recent history of Israeli censorship in the name of security and recommends that Israel end the practice. Israel
Freedom of Expression Takes Another Hit in Lebanon Jean Aziz argues that freedom of expression in Lebanon is regularly restricted by the authorities for a variety of baffling reasons, despite this right being enshrined in the Lebanese constitution. Lebanon
Iraqi National Security Adviser Says Terrorism Linked to Havens in Syria In an interview with Mustafa al-Kadhimi, Iraqi National Security Adviser Faleh al-Fayad describes the intricate regional and internal factors affecting his job, and what the future holds for Iraq’s national security. Iraq
Israel Wants PA to Crack Down On Protests Over Prisoners Israeli media have reported that Israel is ready to release $100 million it collects on behalf of the Palestinian government in return for the Ramallah leadership cracking down on the protests, reports Daoud Kuttab. Palestine
Bad Timing: Israel Allows Oil Exploration in Golan Akiva Eldar writes that the decision to allow a US energy company to explore for oil in the Golan is not meant to antagonize President Obama in advance of his visit to Israel, but a sign that Israel considers the Golan an integral part of the state. Israel
No Conditions on Syrian Dialogue Al-Monitor’s coverage and analysis of the demonstrations in the West Bank, the role of Hezbollah in Syria, and the urgency of starting negotiations between the Syrian government and the opposition without conditions. Palestine
PA Seeks to Exploit West Bank Protests Warnings of a Third Intifada fail to address the core issues behind the West Bank protests, namely Israel's occupation, Dalia Hatuqa writes. Palestine
Part of Turkey's Territory is Kurdistan In a visit to southeast Turkey, Cengiz Candar responds to Mustafa Akyol’s article “Is There a Turkish Kurdistan?” Turkey
Mystery Over Turkish Bid for Shanghai Five Membership Turkey’s membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization would not only fail to make any contribution to Turkish democracy, but might be a setback to recent progress, writes Kadri Gursel. Turkey
The Israel-Hezbollah Shadow War Israel and Hezbollah prefer a shadow war of terror and assassination rather than disturbing the uneasy truce on the Israel-Lebanon border, writes Ali Hashem. Israel
Barakeh: Arab-Israelis A Faceless Entity Knesset member Mohammad Barakeh, leader of the bi-national party Hadash, explains to Mazal Mualem why the most social justice-oriented party in Israel did not benefit from the fruits of Israel’s social-protest movement, and points an accusing finger at the government and the media for ignoring Israel's Arab citizens. Palestine
