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
Detained Palestinians boycott Israeli courts Many of the 500 Palestinians being held without charge in Israel are rejecting their "day in court," which they claim is only used as a platform for Israeli propaganda. Palestine
Palestinians skeptical about Arab League support for Jerusalem The Saudi king declared the April 15 Arab League Summit held in the city of Dhahran in eastern Saudi Arabia to be the "Jerusalem Summit," yet many Palestinians doubt this show of support will lead to lasting change. Saudi Arabia
Egypt's parliament moves forward on anti-cybercrime law The parliamentary communications committee has approved a draft law to combat cybercrime amid criticism that this draft law, if approved, would further stifle freedom of expression. Egypt
Ultra-Orthodox join Israelis in national mourning on memorial days Over the past three years, the ultra-Orthodox community has changed its attitude toward Memorial Day for Israel's fallen soldiers, with its leaders calling to honor the day and participate in the national mourning events. Israel
Netanyahu's delusions on Saudi Arabia The Arab League has provided Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a path to peace if he so chooses, but he instead is deluding himself in thinking he can have better relations with Arab countries like Saudi Arabia while enforcing harsh policies against the Palestinians. Saudi Arabia
Congress seeks to exert more control over Middle East wars Lawmakers want more of a say in US military activity in the wake of last weekend’s Syria strikes. Saudi Arabia
More bad news for Turkey's EU accession bid The European Union's most recent report on the state of Turkey's bid to join the bloc appears to confirm the view of many analysts that the current process is riddled with hypocrisy and is not beneficial to either party. Turkey
EU's critical report on Turkey draws criticism itself Turkey has an oddly mild reaction to a bruising report from the European Commission. Turkey
Palestinians appeal for help as bloodshed continues in Gaza Strip The International Criminal Court said it is monitoring the violence between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian protesters, as it's being called on to take Israel to task. Palestine
Shared airspace helps Egypt, Russia gain common ground Tourism and joint development projects should get a boost from recently resumed flights between Cairo and Moscow. Egypt
Will Iran’s banking sector collapse? While Iran is certainly on the brink of a major banking crisis, the likely outcome won’t be financial collapse but rather a restructuring of banks. Iran
Telegram in Iran on verge of being blocked Iran’s supreme leader leaves Telegram as talk increases of the imminent blocking of the popular messaging app. Iran
