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
Rouhani moves closer to Khamenei amid bipartisan backlash President Hassan Rouhani’s appearance before parliament to answer economic questions did not satisfy Principlists or Reformists. It did, however, please Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran
Why Turkey wants a permanent naval base in Northern Cyprus With the heated atmosphere in the eastern Mediterranean because of the Syrian crisis and the rivalry over hydrocarbon reserves, Turkey’s desire to install a permanent naval base in Northern Cyprus is being debated. Turkey
Jerusalem court recognizes settlement built on private Palestinian land The Jerusalem District Court has found that an Israeli settlement built on privately owned Palestinian land is legal, but Palestinian owners have not given up hope for the Supreme Court. Palestine
Palestinian judges resign in protest against executive branch interference Fourteen judges from the Supreme Court of Palestine announced their collective resignations Sept. 5 in protest against amendments to the Judicial Authority Law that would pave the way for the executive branch’s interference in the judicial sector. Palestine
Factions call for changing Iraq to presidential government A group of pro-Iranian leaders in Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units want to switch the Iraqi governing system from parliamentary to presidential. Iraq
Abbas says OK to demilitarized Palestinian state Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said to Israeli peace activists that he would approve the establishment of a demilitarized Palestinian state, which his close associates saw as a message to Israel that Palestinians want peace. Palestine
Who is this 20-year-old that Gaza sports fans love to hear? Award-winning sports commentator Hesham Muammar has been considered a “boy wonder” ever since he won the Watar talent competition at the age of 14. Now he has taken over management of a radio station. Palestine
Selling government land in Gaza raises eyebrows Hamas says its Ministry of Finance in the Gaza Strip plans to sell a plot of government land, which some experts say is illegal. Palestine
Tunisian parliament to consider criminalizing racial discrimination Though Tunisia was one of the first countries to abolish slavery, violence and discrimination against its black minority continues to plague the country, and proponents say an anti-discrimination law is long overdue. Tunisia
What to do about 10,000 al-Qaeda-linked terrorists in Idlib? Hayat Tahrir al-Sham stymies Turkey’s bid for cease-fire, welcomes Syrian assault. Syria
US friends in the Middle East lose a champion in John McCain The late senator from Arizona leaves behind a legacy as one of the Senate’s last prominent proponents of US interventionism. Iraq
Why did Putin disregard his Turkish partner? Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appeared lonely and ignored at the Tehran summit. Syria
