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
Palestinians in Israel speak up against hate speech, police brutality Police brutality has become a common refrain among Arab Israelis who dare demonstrate against oppression and hate speech. Israel
Gadhafi supporters arrested during peace talks in Tripoli A group of Gadhafi-regime supporters say they were on a peaceful mission in Libya when they were arrested and accused of planning violent acts to destabilize Tripoli. Libya
How serious is OIC in condemning US, Israel? The Organization of Islamic Cooperation stressed during an emergency meeting on the violence in Gaza the need to impose economic and political sanctions against countries supporting the transfer of the US Embassy to Jerusalem, yet some question if any action will actually follow. Palestine
Turkey's 'Lord of the Herbs' prescribes civil war In a TV interview, a Turkish writer vowed to support President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling party should they lose in the upcoming elections by promising to dig up a buried weapons stash and "take to the streets." Turkey
Turkey's traditional carpets meet quantum physics The Turkish artist Belkis Balpinar adds new interpretations, including inspirations from science, to the tradition of symbolism in Anatolian kilims. Turkey
Iraq's Sunni lists approach coalition as one bloc The main Sunni lists that won seats in Iraq's parliamentary elections are negotiating to form one Sunni alliance in order to participate in the formation of the new government. Iraq
Iran's supreme leader gives Europe list of demands to salvage nuclear deal Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei outlined conditions that Europe must take if Iran is to remain in the nuclear deal. United States
The unorthodox theory behind Erdogan's monetary policy Economists and investors are not buying the controversial economic theory invoked by Turkey’s president to justify low interest rates in the face of high inflation and the lira's collapse. Turkey
Fatah exits Great Return March, Hamas won't stop Fatah is ending its involvement in the Great Return March, accusing rival Palestinian faction Hamas of changing and diluting the event's focus. Palestine
Kuwait's careful balancing act with Iran, Saudi Arabia The muted responses to the US withdrawal from the Iran deal among smaller Gulf Cooperation Council member states reflect careful policies designed to balance ties with Iran and Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia
Compromise is possible on Palestinian right of return There is room to negotiate between Israeli resistance and Palestinian insistence on the right of return: the monetary compensation that polls show most Palestinian refugees already favor. Palestine
Egypt to float state shares to boost stock market The Egyptian government has decided to sell shares in state-owned companies as part of the series of economic reforms connected to its $12 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund. Egypt
