Originals - AL-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Originals

Palestinian supporters of the Hamas movement wave flags as they rally against Israel's plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, in Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza Strip, on June 19, 2020. - Israel intends to annex West Bank settlements and the Jordan Valley, as proposed by US President Donald Trump, with initial steps slated to begin from July 1. (Photo by MAHMUD HAMS / AFP) (Photo by MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images)

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!

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.

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.

A worker unloads a refrigerated truck carrying the first delivery of coronavirus vaccine via the United Nations Covax programme supporting poorer areas, to be kept at Palestinian Authority's storage facility in the West Bank city of Nablus, on March 17, 2021. - The Palestinian Authority said that vaccination would begin at the end of this week, primarily for those aged over 75, cancer patients and medical personnel.
Earlier, some 60,000 doses of Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines allocated to the Palestinians

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.

Latest News

Tunisian president meets new Libyan unity government

Iran operating new advanced centrifuges, nuclear watchdog finds

A cameraman arrives at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),prior to a press conference at the agency's headquarters in Vienna on March 4, 2021. - European nations will not go ahead with a planned resolution criticising Iran at this week's meeting of the UN nuclear watchdog, diplomatic sources said on March 4, 2021. (Photo by ALEX HALADA / AFP) (Photo by ALEX HALADA/AFP via Getty Images)

Lawsuit filed to close pro-Kurdish party after lawmaker stripped of parliamentary seat

Turkish member of Parliament for the left wing political party Peoples' Democratic Party Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu (C) reacts as he is surrounded by MPs applauding and brandishing placards after he was dismissed following a vote at the Turkish Parliament in Ankara, on March 17, 2021. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Israeli and Emirati rugby teams to play each other for first time

United Arab Emirates

Israeli security forces stand guard in one of the alleys of Jerusalem's Old City following a knife attack early on May 31, 2019. - Two Israelis were wounded, one critically, in stabbing attacks in annexed east Jerusalem early in the monrning, one near Damascus Gate and the other near Jaffa Gate, according to Israeli police. Police said the attacker had been "neutralised" without specifying whether he had been killed or wounded. The Old City, where the attack took place, has been the scene of numerous stabbi

Can Jerusalem mayor improve situation of Arab residents?

Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Leon advances two development projects in East Jerusalem — in Issawiya and in Wadi Joz.

A picture taken at the port of Dilovasi, outside Istanbul, on June 20, 2019 shows the drilling ship 'Yavuz' scheduled to search for oil and gas off Cyprus. - Turkey is set to send a new ship on June 20 to search for oil and gas off Cyprus, in a move expected to escalate tensions after the EU called on Ankara to stop its "illegal drilling activities". The region near the divided island is believed have rich natural gas deposits, triggering a race between Turkey and the internationally recognised Cyprus, whic

Egypt, Turkey show off naval strength in eastern Mediterranean

Turkey conducted a military drill in the eastern Mediterranean that was followed by an Egyptian-French drill amid tensions in the region among Turkey, Greece and Cyprus on gas exploration, and between Turkey and Egypt on Libya.

A group of tourists walk past Hagia Sophia as they go toward the historical Sultanahmet district on July 28, 2020 in Istanbul. - The Council of State, the highest administrative court, on July 10, 2020 unanimously cancelled a 1934 decision by modern Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk to turn it into a museum, saying it was registered as a mosque in its property deeds. (Photo by Ozan KOSE / AFP) (Photo by OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)

Coronavirus not stopping flow of Israeli tourists to Turkey

Even before the coronavirus pandemic there was a significant increase in the number of Israelis visiting Turkey, and it seems that the trend continues despite the virus outbreak.

An aerial view shows the River Nile before sunset in the Helwan suburb south of the Egyptian capital Cairo on June 20, 2020. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP) (Photo by KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Egypt promotes local projects to mitigate GERD effects

As Ethiopia continues to fill the reservoir of its controversial dam on the Nile River, Egypt is churning out ideas and projects to conserve water.

A protester wearing a bandana around the mouth stands with others holding up a sign (R) reading in Hebrew "'siege' on Balfour"" (referencing the street near the Israeli Prime Minister's residence) and "on the head of the thief the hat burns" (proverb), during a demonstration against the Israeli government near the Prime Minister's residence in Jerusalem on July 25, 2020. (Photo by Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)

Far-right soccer fans attack anti-Netanyahu protesters

Members of Beitar Jerusalem soccer team fan club La Familia are now demonstrating against anti-Netanyahu demonstrators and even chasing them away.

Iranians, wearing protective face masks, ride their motorcycles in the capital Tehran on July 22, 2020, during the COVID-19 epidemic. - The Islamic republic has been battling a resurgence of the virus, with official figures showing a rise in both new infections and deaths since a two-month low in May. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Report: Iranian authorities ignore prisons' pleas for help in fighting COVID-19

Amnesty International obtained letters from prisons in Iran to the Health Ministry about a lack of adequate supplies in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.

Does Erdogan think Sisi is bluffing in Libya?

Trump and Putin can prevent the "Syrianization" of Libya.

Iraq’s prime minister says early elections to be held in June 2021

Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi said parliamentary elections will be held June 6, 2021.

Turkey holds joint military drills with Azerbaijan amid Armenia conflict

Azerbaijan and Armenia, long at odds, have been fighting in the strategic Tavush-Tovuz border area; Turkey has threatened to intervene on the side of Azerbaijan.

Relatives and colleagues of the 11 Ukrainians who died in a plane mistakenly shot down by Iran in January, attend a ceremony unveiling a memorial stone at the site of the future monument at the Boryspil International airport outside Kiev on February 17, 2020. (Photo by Sergei SUPINSKY / AFP) (Photo by SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran, Ukraine hold 'constructive' talks over downed passenger plane

Ukraine's foreign minister said the talks were productive, but the two sides have not yet agreed on compensation for the plane's downing.

Elon Musk tweets that aliens built Egypt's pyramids

The conspiracy theory that aliens built the marvels is unfortunately common.

US expands sanctions on Iran metals trade, citing ballistic missile program

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expands metals-related sanctions on Iran, naming 22 materials used in connection with Iran’s nuclear, military or ballistic missile programs.