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
Netanyahu leverages international support against Hezbollah after Beirut blast Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called French President Emmanuel Macron to praise him for his leadership after the Beirut blast and to campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel
Iran arrests alleged spies for UK, Germany, Israel Iran executed men it said spied for the United States and Israel last month. Iran
Israeli tanks deploy to Lebanese border Conflicting reports have emerged on whether Israeli tanks entered Lebanese territory amid high tensions between Israel and Hezbollah. Israel
Israeli women excluded from decision-making on coronavirus Israeli women are excluded from the government’s decision-making process on the coronavirus, even though they are the first ones to suffer the social and economic consequences of the pandemic. Israel
Egypt-Gaza border crossing opens for first time in months The Rafah border crossing has been mostly shut to travelers since March. Palestine
Netanyahu challenged from the right, not from the left Israel’s political left is doing so badly that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s most serious challenger currently is right-wing politician Naftali Bennett. Israel
Iraq's al-Faw port project's endless delays The al-Faw grand port project has been long delayed due to financial problems, among other issues. Iraq
Outrage as Algerian journalist sentenced to three years in prison Human rights groups around the world are aghast at the harsh sentencing of independent Algerian journalist Khaled Drareni, who has become a freedom of speech icon. Algeria
Is Israel ready for a religious prime minister? Israel never had a religious prime minister, but popular Yamina leader Naftali Bennett is adamant in trying to get hold of the job. Israel
Archive Upfront from Aug 11, 2020 How HTS leader in Syria's Idlib is attempting a makeover The leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in Syria’s Idlib has been making appearances in the streets and public places among the people in a bid to present himself as a political leader. Syria
Egypt reaches out to Maghreb countries to resolve Libyan crisis Egypt is working to coordinate with the Maghreb countries in hopes of reaching a consensus on Libya. Egypt
After barrage of explosive balloons, Israel closes crossing point with Gaza Signaling to Hamas it won’t tolerate more incendiary balloons, Israel announced it will close the Kerem Shalom goods crossing for an undetermined period, allowing only the entry of fuel, food and humanitarian supplies. Israel
