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
Why Now for Erdogan's Initiative With PKK? Cengiz Çandar analyzes the links between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's initiative to negotiate with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), regional developments and the Turkish elections. Turkey
Lebanon Struggles With Political Deadlock, Syria Crisis Lebanon is threatened by the escalating situation in neighboring Syria, as well as by internal political disputes, writes Mohammad Harfoush. Lebanon
Iraq Protests Present Muslim Brotherhood With Opportunity The Muslim Brotherhood in Iraq has for years struggled to find a footing amongst many sectarian parties, but recent protests in Sunni cities have given them an opportunity, writes Mustafa al-Kadhimi. Iraq
Last Hopes for 'European Turkey' Kadri Gursel analyzes Turkey's European policies, its prospects for EU membership and what this all means for the "Turkish model." Turkey
Displaced Syrians in Lebanon 'Beyond Our Control' As the conflict in Syria intensifies, Elie Hajj speaks to an opposition activist in Beirut about the influx of Syrian refugees into Lebanon. Lebanon
Who's Afraid Of Israeli-Russian Voters? Israeli politicians fail to understand the choice of many Russian immigrants to live simultaneously in both worlds, writes Lily Galili. Israel
Ahmad Tibi: No Apologies For Being a 'Palestinian Patriot' In an interview with Shlomi Eldar, Arab Knesset Member Ahmed Tibi realizes that he infuriates many Jewish Israelis, but he has no plans to apologize. Palestine
Five Million State Employees Drag Down Iraqi Economy Omar al-Shaher writes that five million state employees receive inflated salaries and do little or no work, costing the state $83 billion and creating a drag on the Iraqi economy. Iraq
Martyr's Day and the Palestinian Resistance Linah Alsaafin examines the state of the Palestinian resistance movement. Palestine
Will Shelly Yachimovich Win Back Israel's Left? Shelly Yachimovich, leader of the Labor Party, declared that she will not join a Likud-led government, in a last-minute attempt to win back her leftist electorate, writes Mazal Mualem. Israel
Greece Considers Exclusive Zone In Offshore Gas Fields Tulin Daloglu analyzes the consequences of Greece declaring an exclusionary zone in the eastern Mediterranean Sea's gas fields. Turkey
