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
Are Trump team’s overtures to Palestinians serious? After the failure of the Bahraini workhop, the Trump team is making overtures to the Palestinian president and suggesting the reopening of the Palestinian mission in Washington — but can this be taken serious? Palestine
Iran shells Iraqi Kurdistan Region Iran follows Turkey in bombarding civilians in border areas of Iraq's Kurdistan Region. Iraqi-Kurdistan
How Egypt promotes its fuel price increase An Egyptian government advertising campaign paves the way for a fuel price increase for the fifth time since President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi took power — but is this in the citizens’ best interest? Egypt
New challenges for Moscow with arrest of 'Russian trolls' in Libya Following the arrest of two Russians by Libyan security forces, the Government of National Accord is trying to sway Moscow away from Khalifa Hifter. Syria
Trump’s pick for top general plays down Iran war talk A day after Iranian boats reportedly attempted to seize a British tanker in the Gulf, President Donald Trump’s pick to become the military’s top officer downplayed the potential for conflict with Tehran. Congress
What Israel’s coalition will look like after September elections The Sept. 17 elections offer a very unclear picture so far, with a multitude of possible scenarios for the composition of the next government and no clear win for either camp. Israel
Rouhani out of time, support for revised nuclear deal US sanctions and Europe's failure to come up with a satisfactory substitute for the nuclear deal are weakening the moderates in Iran's government while inflaming the hawks. United States
Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood: change toward democracy? In an unprecedented step, Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood issued a statement saying it no longer seeks to be in power and wants to join hands with Egypt’s different political forces. Egypt
Syrian refugees becoming scapegoats for Turkey’s troubles Turkey’s economic downturn and the lack of long-term residence options are putting pressure on the nation’s 3.6 million Syrian refugees. Syria
Israel discretely increases number of entry permits for Gaza workers Israel has increased the number of entry permits for Gaza laborers, after years of demands from farmers in the south of Israel. Palestine
IRGC denies it tried to capture British tanker The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has denied they attempted to seize a British oil tanker in the Persian Gulf. United States
