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
Israeli Settlement Expansion Casts Cloud Over Obama Visit Israel's green light to proceed with building new settlements ahead of US President Barack Obama's visit dampens expectations for change, writes Dalia Hatuqa. Palestine
Fatah and Hamas Consider Interim Agreement to Manage Split With Fatah and Hamas so far unable to reach a final reconciliation deal, some officials are considering an interim accord to manage the split, reports Daoud Kuttab. Palestine
Israeli Censorship in the Digital Era Israel’s failed attempt to block information about the arrest and suicide of Mossad agent Ben Zygier causes Shlomi Eldar to return to his childhood and the BBC’s Arabic News. Israel
The Israeli Press, Military Censorship, and 'Foreign Sources' Israel enjoys freedom of press in all areas, except when it comes to military and security matters, which explains the proliferation of "foreign sources," writes Reuven Pedatzur. Israel
The Case for Israeli Censorship Ben Caspit writes that even if Israel is, in fact, the only democracy in the world with military censorship, it is also the only democracy continuously fighting for its existence. Israel
SNC Cites Hezbollah Role in Syria Syrian opposition forces claim Hezbollah is playing a growing role in the Syria conflict, reports Ali Hashem. Lebanon
Turkey-Iran Ties Strained By Iraq, Syria Tehran and Ankara are struggling to keep up appearances as differences over Iraq and Syria begin to take a toll on their bilateral relationship, writes Semih Idiz. Syria
Israel Seeks to Curb Weapons Flow to Gaza Israel is coordinating with Egypt to stop the flow of weapons into the Gaza Strip from Sudan, by way of Libya and Egypt, reports Adnan Abu Amer. Palestine
Turkey's Creeping Alcohol Ban Reaches New Heights Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party’s campaign to ban alcohol has now reached Turkish Airlines, writes Kadri Gursel. Turkey
Mauritania Faces Salafist Threat Following the recent events in the Sahel region, the Mauritanian government has taken steps to strengthen its security apparatus to better deal with the Islamist threat, writes Kaci Racelma. Mauritania
Turkey Contributes To Iraqi Fragmentation Turkey’s relationship with the Kurdistan Regional Government may be undermining its long-term economic and energy interests in Iraq, writes Necdet Pamir. Iraq
Syria’s Oil Crisis Since the Syrian regime lost its grip on oil production, domestic oil prices have soared, increasing the civil war's burden on the Syrian economy, writes Mohammad Harfoush. Lebanon
