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
Turkey’s Loyalties Divided In Combatting Terrorism Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan faces the challenge of divided loyalties within the government and the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in dealing with anti-terrorism legislation, writes Semih Idiz. Turkey
Civil Marriages to Mark Anniversary of Civil War In a symbolic ceremony to be held on April 13, the anniversary of the outbreak of the civil war, Lebanese couples will obtain civil marriages in a gesture of national unity, writes Mohammad Harfoush. Lebanon
New Iraqi Chaldean Patriarch Seeks Interfaith Mediation Louis Raphael I Sako, the new patriarch to the Iraqi Chaldeans, hopes to reverse the exodus of Iraqi Christians from Iraq, reports Abdel Hamid Zebari. Iraq
'There Is No Future Here,' Worry Tunisians Ali Hashem reports from Tunis that Tunisians are in despair about the future of their country. Tunisia
Pillaging of Gaza Antiquities An Archaeological Tragedy The pillaging from the Gaza Strip of thousands of historical artifacts, some dating back to the time of Alexander the Great, at the hands of the Israeli occupation has stripped Gaza of its rich history, writes Asmaa al-Ghoul. Palestine
Locals Protest Israeli Road Dividing East Jerusalem Village Residents of the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Safafa are protesting Israeli plans to build a highway through the heart of their village, Jillian Kestler-D'Amours reports. Palestine
Remembering Galal Amer: A Selection of Quotations Bassem Sabry offers a tribute on the first anniversary of the death of Galal Amer, one of Egypt and the Arab world's greatest and most poignant satirical writers, citing some of this best quotes. Egypt
Karroubi's Son: Iranian Regime Afraid of Green Movement Return Speaking days before the second anniversary of his father’s detention, Mohammad Karroubi urges the Obama administration and the international community to focus more on Iran’s poor record on human rights but expresses optimism about upcoming nuclear talks which, he hopes, will lead to easing of economic sanctions. Iran
Drafting Ultra-Orthodox Is No Solution Underlying the heated controversy over the enlistment of ultra-Orthodox men is a far more fateful question — that of their integration into the work force, writes Idan Grinbaum. Israel
In Turkey, AKP Proposes 'Elected Sultan Regime' Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's approach to the presidential system concentrates power in the hands of one person, eliminating the checks and balances necessary for institutions to pursue their duties, writes Kadri Gursel. Turkey
Is There Any Hope Left For Israeli-Palestinian Conflict? Akiva Eldar ponders why the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the longest in history, proposing to resolve it instead of “managing” it. Palestine
Failure to Confront Extremists Keeps Tunisian Unity Elusive The Tunisian government's lackluster reaction to the murder of opposition leader Chokri Belaid is setting a very dangerous precedent, writes Nassif Hitti. Lebanon
