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
Why Israel aims for arrangement with Hamas According to publications, Israel and Hamas have reached an inclusive agreement for easing the Gaza blockade and restraining border violence. Palestine
Israel's year of the undecided voter Undecided voters will determine the outcome of the April 9 elections and with that the fate of the Arab Peace Initiative, which the Arab League endorsed yet again at its annual summit but has not registered on the radar of Israeli candidates or the media. Israel
Iranian Red Crescent says US sanctions impeding flood relief The Iranian Red Crescent complained that US sanctions are impeding the collection of international aid to help its response to disastrous floods. Iran
5 obstacles to Khamenei’s call for ‘boost in domestic production’ While the Iranian supreme leader’s emphasis on domestic production in the face of external sanctions makes a certain amount of sense, the question is how such a strategy should be implemented — and in which sectors of the economy. Iran
Turkey's ruling AKP loses Ankara, Istanbul as opposition springs to life Turkey's ruling party lost big in the municipal elections and the main opposition party took Ankara and Istanbul, which the Justice and Development Party and its Islamist forerunners had controlled for the past 25 years. Turkey
Hamas leadership seeks to restore ties with Syria Hamas sees an opening to rebuild ties with Damascus. Palestine
Will truce between Hamas, Israel last until election day? Egyptian cease-fire efforts seem to be advancing since Hamas deployed members to prevent Palestinian protesters from clashing with Israeli forces, and Israel opened two crossings and loosened fishing restrictions off the coast. Palestine
Iraq inches closer to Egyptian, Jordanian axis Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Jordanian King Abdullah II and Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi met in Cairo to discuss ways to enhance economic and strategic relations, as well as a unified Arab position toward the regional developments, including the US recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights. Egypt
IS children, the lost generation The misallocation of resources, social stigma and de facto administrative discrimination uphold obstacles to the reintegration of children in Iraq born under or recruited by the Islamic State. Iraq
Is this seat occupied? Hebrew University debates IDF uniforms in class A training program for Israeli military intelligence has renewed debate over the presence of army uniforms on university campuses. Palestine
Druze feelings mixed about Trump’s recognition of Golan Some Druze residents of the Golan Heights protested US recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the territory, but others welcomed it. Israel
Careful what you wish for: The lesson of Israel's vote threshold Israel's vote threshold has created a situation in which the Likud, which went to great effort to expel Moshe Feiglin, prays that his party will cross the threshold to enter the Knesset, while Blue and White, which dislikes Balad, hopes for its success. Israel
