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
Iran operating new advanced centrifuges, nuclear watchdog finds According to an International Atomic Energy Agency report, Iran is now using IR-4 centrifuges to enrich uranium in violation of the nuclear accord. Iran
UN says Libya arms embargo 'totally ineffective' A United Nations panel of experts accused several member states, including Turkey and Russia, of fueling the Libyan conflict. Libya
Trade, security concerns bring Turkey, Israel closer Turkish-Israeli relations are still far from normalized, but developments in the region are converging the two countries' security and economic interests. Palestine
Palestinians doubt Israeli narrative of murdered teens Some Palestinians believe Israel orchestrated the kidnapping and murder of the three settlers to facilitate an assault on the Palestinians. Palestine
Israel's police face another scandal With the backdrop of recent scandals, the Israeli public no longer trusts the police, while its senior officers, including the chief of police, Yohanan Danino, continue to ignore criticism. Israel
Egypt cautiously optimistic on coming Renaissance Dam talks With tripartite talks between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan concerning the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam scheduled for later in July, Cairo is hopeful that some of the dam’s technical specifications will be modified. Egypt
Gaza’s armed factions coordinate response to Israeli attacks The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine has launched rockets into Israel over the past few days while Hamas turns a blind eye. Palestine
Turkish truckers try to get on the road again With the dangers and difficulties now inherent in transiting in Iraq and Syria, the Turkish transportation sector is looking for alternative routes to Middle Eastern markets. Legacy: Gulf
Did nostalgia for Islamic caliphate become a reality? The Islamic State has exploited ideological tendencies of Salafist jihadists to establish its "Islamic caliphate." Iraq
Lebanese Hezbollah unlikely to intervene in Iraq crisis Although some have expressed concerns that Hezbollah could intervene in Iraq to protect Shiite holy sites from Islamic State militants, a number of Lebanese politicians and sources close to Hezbollah dismiss this possibility. Iraq
Israel’s soft stance on incitement creates tragedy Hate of Israeli Arabs has reached a peak with the murder of Mohammed Abu Khdeir, 16, reflecting the tolerance of Israeli society toward words and deeds of extreme-right activists. Palestine
Iraq events cause Hezbollah to go on full alert The fall of western Iraq to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) has cut the contiguous bridge from Iran to Lebanon, and Hezbollah fears that ISIS may try to sneak through to Lebanon. Iraq
Will Palestinian unity fall victim to crisis over murders? Al-Monitor’s Israel and Palestine Pulses cover the escalating crisis over the murder of three Israeli youths and a Palestinian teenager. Palestine
Israel misreads Hamas and Palestinians' will to attack Despite Israeli assessments to the contrary, Hamas proved quite willing to step up rocket attacks, and the Palestinian street was more than ready for riot and revolt. Palestine
