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
Morocco wants to help resolve Palestinians' problems As some Arab states, struggling with their own problems, are paying less attention to the Palestinian cause and comatose reconciliation process, Moroccans are stepping up their support. Palestine
Egyptian property owners win right to evict government tenants State institutions have been renting private properties for extremely low costs since the 1970s, but a recent ruling by the Egyptian Supreme Constitutional Court is set to end the practice. Egypt
Israel’s 'anger diplomacy' leads nowhere Boycotting the UN Human Rights Council over its call to probe into incidents in the Gaza Strip harms Israel’s interests and closes the door on dialogue. Palestine
Death does not stop voice of this Palestinian singer A posthumous album by Rim Banna titled "Voice of Resistance" expresses her hope and despair for Palestine through her own texts while she battled cancer. Palestine
Pompeo calls for review of security assistance to Lebanon The State Department and congressional hawks are taking a second look at US support for the Lebanese Armed Forces after Hezbollah and its allies won a parliamentary majority in this month’s elections. Lebanon
Bowing to market pressure, Turkey's Central Bank hikes rates The Turkish currency's nosedive continues, with the nation's Central Bank hamstrung by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's resistance to intervention. Turkey
Iran rejects removing forces from Syria Iranian officials have rejected the idea of pulling forces from Syria. Russia
Why Netanyahu wants to replace Israel's police chief Israel's Minister of Public Security Gilad Erdan tries maneuvering between good governance practices and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s desire to replace the head of Israel Police, Roni Alsheikh. Israel
Israel’s defense minister toughens campaign against Israeli Arabs Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman outdid himself in his latest salvo against the country’s Arab lawmakers. Palestine
Are Trump, Netanyahu trying to topple Iranian regime? Some Israeli security experts fear that an overly tough anti-Iranian policy could backfire at attempts to topple the ayatollah regime, uniting the Iranian people behind its leadership. Israel
Many Iraqi legislators call for canceling election results Complaints about irregularities in Iraq's May 12 parliamentary elections, worries about the country's electronic vote counting and the agony of defeat have caused many parliamentarians to request that the results be canceled. Iraq
Who will replace Abbas? Local Palestinian media have largely avoided covering the hospitalization of President Mahmoud Abbas, as debate continues over a succession plan. Palestine
