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
Palestine prepares for 2017 general census The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics is getting ready for the population, housing and establishment census in 2017, which will provide a statistical database for government development policies and plans. Palestine
Will Palestinians pay heavy price for Amona evacuation? Palestinians fear that Israel will destroy Palestinian homes, lift the construction freeze and resume work on hundreds of new settlement housing units to compensate the settlers for the evacuation of Amona. Palestine
Turkey scrambles to cut its losses in Syria Turkey’s Syria policies "lie in shreds"; Syrian Kurds coordinate with government forces in Aleppo; would Russia support federalism in Syria? Syria
Trump transition taps military generals, bankers The Trump administration is becoming top-heavy with military commanders and Wall Street businessmen. United States
How Islamic will Erdogan’s presidential system be? As the presidential system looks more probable than ever, Turkey’s pro-government pundits are looking for references for it within the Islamic tradition. Turkey
How one woman is standing up to Turkey’s purges A Turkish academic, expelled after the July 15 coup attempt, has kept up a solo protest in downtown Ankara since early November, despite frequent detentions and mistreatment by the police. Turkey
Why Egyptian women are taking to the streets in 1960s-style dresses In their latest demonstration against sexual harassment, Egyptian women in 1960s-style dresses took to the streets of downtown Cairo for a photo shoot in celebration of how tolerant Egyptian society once was — and could be again. Egypt
Putin lays out Moscow’s new Mideast strategy A new foreign policy strategy document released by Russia includes a comprehensive section on the Middle East — but will there be a shift in Moscow’s priorities in the region? Legacy: Gulf
Presidential election could let Iranian pollsters shine Contrary to perceptions of public opinion surveys in Iran being unreliable, Iranian pollsters are increasingly capable of providing high-quality polling data. Iran
Will Israel impose Cypriot model in West Bank? Israel is considering adopting methods that Cyprus used in land disputes to regulate settlements in the West Bank, which has raised the ire of Palestinians. Palestine
How Egypt intends to stop sale of its relics around the world The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities is trying to stop the sale of Egyptian relics in world auctions and is calling for the need to amend the 1970 UNESCO convention on the illicit trade of cultural property. Egypt
Pilgrims seeking miracles flock to ancient shrines Many archaeological sites in Iraq are turning into holy shrines, as Iraqis report the occurrence of miracles and other holy acts. Iraq
