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
Turkish muscle flexing in Mediterranean rekindles Cyprus peace efforts Turkey's aggressive behavior in the Eastern Mediterranean over drilling for gas has focused the minds of Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders on getting back to the negotiating table. Turkey
IDF takes out Hezbollah targets on Syrian border Over the past few months, the IDF has increased its operations against Hezbollah, which is taking over abandoned military outposts in the Syrian Golan Heights. Israel
Behind the scenes: The birth of the Meretz–Barak alliance In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Meretz Knesset member Issawi Freij, architect of the surprising agreement to merge the electoral lists of Meretz and Ehud Barak's Democratic Israel for the upcoming elections, explains what happened behind the scenes and plans for the future. Israel
Tunisian president's death leaves conflicted legacy, unclear future The ultimate measure of late President Beji Caid Essebsi's rule may be the seamless transfer of power to a new Tunisian president. Tunisia
UAE faces growing resentment in southern Yemen The United Arab Emirates is cutting back its forces in Yemen for a variety of reasons, though not exiting entirely, leaving Saudi Arabia to fill in at some strategic sites such as Aden and Perim Island to secure the Bab el-Mandeb Strait’s lucrative shipping lanes. Saudi Arabia
Punishment for dissent begins with lengthy pretrial detention in Turkey As the Turkish judiciary takes a summer recess, nearly 60,000 people remain behind bars as the trial process for political and terrorism-related charges drags on. Turkey
Rouhani says Iran ready for 'respectful' negotiations Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said that the country will not "surrender" but is ready to hold talks with the United States on reviving the nuclear deal. United States
Why Syria's opposition council is opening offices in FSA-held areas The National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces is opening offices in the Free Syrian Army-held areas to obtain the support of the people who believe such an institution to be a failure. Syria
Egypt muzzles media on US peace plan Egypt's security services issued strict instructions to Egyptian newspapers not to publish any views contrary to the government's official line on the US-proposed Palestian-Israeli peace deal. Palestine
Republicans push tepid Trump to sanction Turkey After huddling with President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday, Republican senators tell Al-Monitor that the president isn’t keen on sanctioning Turkey. Turkey
Apology of Barak to Israeli Arabs: Political but important Israeli Arabs are well aware that the apology of former Prime Minister Ehud Barak was politically motivated, but they welcome his action nonetheless. Israel
Turkish journalist describes murky world of sheikhs, lies and video tape A shocking tale of sexual abuse and exploitation has Turks reeling now that an investigative journalist has published new details about the cult of Ugur Korunmaz. Turkey
