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
Obama's Visit to Region Brings New Hope for Peace US President Barack Obama spoke at his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech in 2009 of his desire to achieve peace in Israel-Palestine; now is his chance, Daoud Kuttab writes. Palestine
Israelis on Facebook Ask: Obama, Come to the Square Israelis are hoping that US President Barack Obama will speak at Rabin Square and renew a sincere and friendly dialogue, writes Nadav Eyal. Israel
AKP Reacts to US Criticism of Turkey Tulin Daloglu examines the AKP's different reactions to comments by US ambassadors about two high-profile judicial cases. Turkey
Why Some Turks Miss Military Coups A Turkish opposition politician made headlines by suggesting that a military coup might be the best way to defeat the ruling Justice and Development Party, writes Mustafa Akyol. Turkey
Hamas Weighs Options For Recognizing Israel After having been ideologically committed to Israel’s destruction, Hamas is facing the dilemma of either recognizing Israel or losing power, writes Adnan Abu Amer. Palestine
Israeli Goods Flood Gaza Israeli products are filling Gaza's supermarket shelves, creating a false image that Israel is easing its siege, Rana Baker writes. Palestine
Hospitals Funded by Islamic States Aid Besieged Gaza International hospitals funded by Islamic countries have helped Gaza cope with Israel's siege in recent years, Rami Almeghari reports. Palestine
Sayed Kashua Brings Israeli Arabs To Life, Slams Lapid as 'Racist' Author Sayed Kashua hides pain within his humor, and reveals to interviewer Shlomi Eldar what it is like to live in two worlds. Israel
Former Aman Chief Offers Realism on Threats to Israel Former IDF intelligence chief Amos Yadlin has discounted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s scare tactics and argues that in terms of conventional threats, Israel’s situation has never been better, reports Ben Caspit. Egypt
Is Spring Over in Tunis? The recent assassination was a rare interruption in Tunisia's peaceful revolution, writes Clovis Maksoud, who fears a dangerous polarization is emerging between secularists and Islamists there. Lebanon
US Budget Woes Compound Differences with GCC Despite security and commercial ties with the United States, there is a growing trust deficit between Washington and Arab states on the Persian Gulf that fear the spread of Arab democratic movements and worry that the U.S. will sacrifice their interests for a deal with Iran. Saudi Arabia
Abu Mazen Thanks Ahmadinejad For Iran's Support The embrace between the Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was the wrong gesture, writes Shlomi Eldar. Palestine
