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
Ankara goes on risky quest to cut interest rates Bent on lowering interest rates, Turkey’s president took the extreme step of ousting the central bank governor, but his insistence on rate cuts is fraught with risks that could fan fresh economic turmoil. Turkey
Egypt shifts education focus to improving quality A program currently under implementation in primary schools in Southern Egyptian provinces is building up the capacity of teachers, advancing literacy and engaging the community in education. Egypt
Egypt plans single cash transfer system for combating poverty Egypt plans to launch a new social protection system to help the poor, which would include merging a social security safety-net plan with the program known as Takaful and Karama. Egypt
Can West Bank break free economically from Israel? The Palestinian government has decided to kick-start its economic disengagement plan from Israel in the city of Hebron. Palestine
Is Russia behind Syria's security apparatus reform? The latest changes at the top levels of Syria's military and intelligence structures point to Russian influence, but was it Bashar al-Assad's game plan all along? Syria
Tehran says it will stick to phased reduction of nuclear deal commitments Iran told a French envoy that it will continue to scale back its commitments under the nuclear deal unless the other signatories honor their end of the deal. United States
Turkish-US talks on northern Syria stall as S-400 crisis peaks US envoy for Syria Jim Jeffrey tells the German Marshall Fund that a residual force of US troops will be staying in northeastern Syria for an "indeterminate time"; this decision appears to have been made in part to protect the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units from Turkey. Syria
Is Lebanon caught in the crossfire of the current US-Iranian standoff? With Iranian-backed Hezbollah playing a role in Lebanon's government, how much might the country suffer in case of a military confrontation between Washington and Tehran? Iraq
Palestinian PM turns to Jordan first The Palestinian prime minister’s visit to Amman has given a boost to the potential that Jordan can provide a serious alternative to economic dependency on Israel. Palestine
Moroccan medical students protest privatization of medical education The government’s decision to privatize medical education has caused protests among medical students in public schools that have been ongoing since late March. Morocco
Oman to open embassy in West Bank Oman recently decided to open an embassy in the Palestinian territories, and many Palestinians believe the step is aimed at silencing the Palestinian Authority in the wake of Oman’s relationship with Israel. Oman
Why Likud members follow Netanyahu The charisma of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his discourse about persecution by the country's elites encourage Likud supporters to identify with him. Israel
