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
Archive Upfront from Aug 16, 2012 Is there a Syrian Medvedev? To find a solution in Syria, the US should consider a renewed parallel diplomatic track with Moscow, Tehran and Ankara. The objective: Encourage the emergence of a "Syrian Medvedev," a transitional figure acceptable to the regime, the Syrian people and the relevant outside powers. Syria
Turkey’s Syrian Conundrum Turkey has emerged as the key country in the Syrian endgame, writes Henri J. Barkey. Almost every proposal has a Turkey component, from calls for that nation’s armed forces to enter Syria, to proposals for establishing “humanitarian corridors.” Ankara finds itself in an impossible situation, alarmed by Syria’s steady march toward the abyss, but reluctant to intervene militarily. Originals
