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
Egypt-Saudi Arabia maritime demarcation agreement makes headlines again The governor of the Red Sea in Egypt revealed great gains for the Egyptian economy unknown by those opposing the controversial maritime border demarcation agreement with Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia
Can Israel’s religious right rid itself of racists? United Right head Rafi Peretz tries wriggling himself out of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s grasp and undoing the merger established before the April elections with the far-right Jewish Power Party. Israel
Anniversary of Iran Air 655 tragedy offers lessons for US-Iran diplomacy today Iran Air 655’s bitter legacy; Iraq as front line; Iran should talk … but it needs off-ramps. United States
Shiite militias react angrily to decree integrating them into Iraqi forces Pro-Iran Shiite militias in Iraq reacted with displeasure to the prime minister's decree to integrate the Popular Mobilization Units into the Iraqi military forces, but the majority of the PMU are pledging allegiance to Baghdad. Iraq
Will Liberman crown Israel’s next prime minister? Going by the latest poll results, Yisrael Beitenu head Avigdor Liberman will be the deciding factor in the Sept. 17 elections and will determine the identity of Israel’s next leader. Israel
Palestinian Authority woos Iraq, says Iran is no enemy Nabil Shaath, an adviser to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, traveled to Iraq to galvanize Baghdad's support for the Palestinian cause and perhaps make new connections with Iran along the way. Bahrain
Nubians offered compensation for lost land Egypt is offering compensation to 11,700 Nubian citizens who have been displaced from their land for the sake of building the Aswan Dam. Egypt
Solar, wind projects to help power West Bank A project jointly funded by the EU Commission and France will build infrastructure to harness renewable energy in the northern West Bank. Palestine
Settlement agreement ends Egypt's long-simmering gas dispute with Israel Egypt and Israel reached a settlement deal ending a long-standing dispute over Egypt’s decision to cancel gas exports to Israel. Egypt
Houthis taking battle to Saudis with upgraded weapons cache It's unclear whether Iran is providing weapons to the Houthis in Yemen, but whatever the source, the rebels are making good use of bomb-laden drones and even missiles. Saudi Arabia
Egypt mixing sports, politics with new party-affiliated club Egypt’s largest political party, the Nation’s Future Party, announced recently the establishment of its own sports club, sparking major controversy in the country. Egypt
Mossad chief exposes vision of peace, calls to act The recent statement by Mossad chief Yossi Cohen, warning of missed opportunities for peace, indicates his belief that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must act now and reach out to the Palestinians. Palestine
