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
Reality TV Breaks Barriers Between Israeli Jews and Arabs Television reality shows have become the only meeting point between Jewish and Arab Israelis, writes Shlomi Eldar. Israel
Sistani Calls for 'Civil State' in Iraq Mustafa al-Kadhimi discusses the role of Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Iraqi politics. Iraq
Lebanon's Electoral Law And the Regional Crisis The recent move by the Lebanese March 14 coalition’s Christian parties to support the so-called Orthodox Gathering’s election law surprised their allies, yet the alliance insists that it is still united, writes Elie Hajj. Lebanon
Palestinians Lose Hope, Interest in Israeli Elections Daoud Kuttab analyzes the apathy among Palestinians about the upcoming Israeli elections. Palestine
Israeli Occupation Causes Palestinian Identity Crisis Israeli occupation and colonization is not only stripping Palestinians of their land, but their identity too, Rana Baker writes. Palestine
Turkey's Kurdish Issue: How Did We Get Here? Tulin Daloglu reviews the history of Turkey's Kurdish issue. Turkey
Palestinian Militants From Syria Establish Lebanon Base In a move that could destabilize Lebanon, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine has set up two bases in Lebanon, one just a few miles away from Beirut, writes Jean Aziz. Lebanon
Iraqi Opposition Blocs Renew Effort to Oust Maliki In a repeat of a move from earlier this year, opposition blocs in Iraq are once again trying to withdraw confidence from Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and force the collapse of his government, writes Ali Abel Sadah. Iraq
Iraq, Arab States Should End Sectarian Rhetoric, Policies Mustafa al-Kadhimi writes that there is common ground for Iraq to rebuild its relationships with its Arab neighbors, if all parties can cease sectarian rhetoric and agendas. Iraq
Paris Murders Reveal Sensitive Nature of Turkish-French Ties The murder of three PKK activists has brought attention to the changes in Turkish-French relations, writes Semih Idiz. Turkey
Baghdad Traces Iraqi Terror Links To Syria, Jabhat al-Nusra Ali Abdel Sadah reports that the Iraqi government is investigating links between Iraqi al-Qaeda and Jabhat al-Nusra, which the US has declared a terrorist group. Iraq
Erdogan's Domestic Challenges Of Peace with the PKK Prime Minister Erdogan's peace initiative with the PKK should be understood in the context of his other domestic political initiatives, writes Kadri Gursel. Turkey
