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
Cairo marks anniversary of revolution by jailing journalists Egypt has been passing the days leading up to the anniversary of the military coup that toppled President Mohammed Morsi with a clampdown reminiscent of 2013. Egypt
Crickets as Netanyahu's annexation date comes and goes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had to admit his annexation plan did not move forward July 1 amid tepid US support and a populace distracted by more pressing issues. Palestine
Do kites really pose national security threat to Egypt? The number of kites in the skies over Egypt has increased recently, and some consider this a potential threat to the country's national security. Originals
The Takeaway: Danon: Israeli annexation decision ‘should be taken in next few weeks’ Highlights: Israel’s UN Ambassador offer new timeline for annexation decision; Palestinian UN ambassador rules out talks with Israel under Trump plan; Syrian terrorist group seizes Turkish lifeline; an environmental catastrophe in a war zone; Iraqi protesters go after statues. Originals
Turkey criticizes exclusion from EU list of safe travelers The European Union's list of countries it will allow visitors from did not include Turkey. Turkey
Egypt resumes international flights, reopens pyramids for summer tourism More than three months after Egypt closed its major tourist attractions, two flights from Ukraine arrive in Red Sea and South Sinai governorates. Egypt
British PM Johnson writes op-ed in opposition to West Bank annexation Boris Johnson wrote the article in Israel's Ynet news outlet as a "friend" of Israel, saying annexation of the Palestinian territory is not in Israel's best interests. Israel
Italian police confiscate $1 billion worth of ‘Islamic State-made’ drugs The 84 million Captagon tablets were stashed inside three containers investigators discovered at the Salerno port. Syria
Turkey sends coronavirus aid to Iraq Turkey delivers coronavirus aid to Iraq as it continues its operations against Kurdish groups in the country's northern semi-autonomous Kurdish region. Iraq
Iran warns US of ‘firm response’ after Security Council meeting In today's Iran media review, officials viewed the first in a series of UN Security Council meetings on the extension of an Iran arms embargo as a political defeat for Washington. Iran
France leaves NATO Mediterranean operation over dispute with Turkey The French decision follows NATO's report on a June incident in the Mediterranean Sea between France and Turkey amid tensions between the two NATO allies over the sea and Libya. Turkey
Intel: Pentagon to accept Turkey-made F-35 parts through 2022 The Pentagon will continue to accept Turkish-made parts for Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter through 2022, despite the United States’ vow to kick Ankara off the program by this year. Turkey
