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
Egyptian women look to boost presence in police force Although women have made increasing progress in entering Egypt’s police force, they still face many obstacles. Egypt
Turkey’s Kurdish policies provoke backlash everywhere The US-Turkish deal on Manbij sparks a Damascus opening to Syrian Kurds; Iran scolds Turkey on PKK operations in Syria; the HDP faces violence and an “uneven” playing field in elections; Iran is caught in the middle between Russia and Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia
Congress presses Egypt on injured US citizen Congress wants Cairo to compensate an American citizen who was grievously injured when Egyptian security forces attacked a tourist group with US-made weapons. Egypt
What's the real motivation behind Trump's Mideast peace plan? UN sources are skeptical on the feasibility of the US Mideast peace plan, which is clearly in favor of Israel’s positions. Palestine
Iraqi Shiites, Kurds siphon voter support from Sunnis Sunni parties lost a significant number of parliament seats in Iraq's May elections, continuing a yearslong decline. Iraq
Protesters say support for Gaza Strip continues to grow Calls and protests to lift sanctions on the Gaza Strip have spread outside the Palestinian territories and are expected to grow even bigger. Palestine
Blame game: Who bombed Iraqi fighters in Syria? Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units fighting in Syria were targeted recently by some country's aircraft, but no one's fessing up. Iraq
Will Iraq's Abadi have a role in forming new government? After the two biggest winners in last month's parliamentary elections announced an alliance, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is calling on all Iraqi parties to gather for a national meeting to form the new government. Iraq
How US-Turkey deal in Manbij could affect Russia's influence Turkish patrols escorted by US Army helicopters not far from Manbij, Syria, indicate power equations that have favored Russia in northwest Syria could rapidly change. Syria
Will new bill destroy Israeli Knesset's Arab alliance? Likud Knesset member Yoav Kisch is sponsoring a bill designed to break up the predominantly Arab Joint List. Israel
Iran's calendar in dire need of reform There will be several benefits to the national economy if Iran's government finally establishes a five-day work week in the country. Iran
Turkey's presidential candidates divided over military cooperation with Moscow For the most part, Turkey's presidential candidates urge good relations with Russia, but things are more complicated when it comes to cooperation in the military field. Syria
