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
Settlement sprawl forces Hebron's Palestinian families to live in caves Dozens of Palestinians are living in caves in Hebron as the Israeli authorities repeatedly demolish their homes built without impossible-to-obtain permits. Palestine
Egyptian COVID-19 patients complain of pressure, deception on clinical trials Many family members of coronavirus patients in Egypt report being forced or tricked into allowing their loved ones to participate in clinical trials. Egypt
Egypt heads to Amman, Ramallah to revive peace efforts The Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs visited Jordan and the Palestinian city of Ramallah to declare Egypt’s rejection of the Israeli intentions to annex parts of the Palestinian lands in the West Bank. Palestine
Netanyahu sees last, best chance in fourth round of elections Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu clearly feels that new elections are his best option, but don't expect him to make his move until the Aug. 25 budget deadline. Israel
Iran accuses US fighter aircraft of harassing Iranian airliner over eastern Syria An Iranian broadcaster says an Iran-to-Beirut commercial passenger flight had US jets make an aggressively close pass to it over Syria near the Iraqi border. Syria
Progressives push Democrats to acknowledge West Bank occupation in party platform Democrats made a series of compromises between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel camps in the 2020 party platform, but progressives want to amend it with a reference to the occupation of the West Bank. Palestine
Iran downplays recent explosions, accuses US of cyberattacks A spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry said "limited fires" are typical during the summer months. United States
Kuwait eases curfew, allows mosque prayers for Eid al-Adha holiday Many countries in the region are implementing guidelines for the upcoming Muslim religious holiday. Originals
Will Syrian rebels kill each other in Libya's proxy war? Syrian mercenaries from that country's civil war could now meet opposite each other in the Libyan conflict, only this time as Wagner Group mercenaries. Syria
Iraq's coronavirus cases top 100,000 as Baghdad airport reopens The Health Ministry reported 2,361 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, bringing the total to 102,226. Iraq
Algeria, Tunisia on sidelines of regional diplomacy over Libya conflict Algeria is concerned about whether Egypt will deploy force in Libya. Egypt
Turkey, Russia agree to work for truce in Libya as regional rivalry heats up Despite backing opposing sides, Moscow and Russia have pledged to work toward a cease-fire in the North African country in a conflict that is fueling a complex maze of rivalries across the region. Turkey
