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
Will Trump be open to dialogue with Islamists? While President-elect Donald Trump took a strong stance against Islamists during his campaign, his openness to Turkey’s Justice and Development Party-led government shows that the coming administration’s approach to Islamists is still unknown. Egypt
Shopping portal rides Egypt’s e-commerce wave An online shopping portal created by young Egyptian entrepreneurs has seen an uptick in users, as Egypt's startup scene maintains optimism. Egypt
Will Trump see eye to eye with Erdogan's plans in Iraq, Syria? Ankara is hoping to find harmony with the incoming US administration on its fight against the Islamic State. Iraq
Little has changed between Turkey, Russia despite reconciliation Turkey’s economy has not seen the benefits from normalizing bilateral ties with Russia as Ankara tries to speed up the pace of economic fence mending. Turkey
Will Iran attract international oil firms in post-sanctions era? French energy giant Total’s move to return to Iran is a watershed after years of sanctions, but does this represent a broader process of international oil majors returning to the country? Iran
Does Turkey have upper hand in EU membership battle? Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s gamble with countries of the European Union may succeed if the Europeans blink first. Turkey
Israeli minister's gift gaffe leads to awkward standoff with Russians When Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev visited Israel, Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel impulsively offered him the expensive drone he was admiring in an incident that amused but also concerned Israelis. Israel
As IS loses power, will group tap women jihadis to fight? As the Islamic State suffers successive defeats in Iraq’s Mosul and Raqqa in Syria, it's increasingly likely that the women of the organization will shift from their traditional supportive roles to become suicide bombers or fighters on the front lines. Iraq
Why many Fallujah residents have yet to return home The city of Fallujah is not safe enough yet for residents to return, as IS cells are still operating and some are afraid of revenge by the Iraqi forces. Iraq
Congress votes to box Trump in on Syria sanctions The House easily passed tough new sanctions amid concerns President-elect Donald Trump will cozy up to Syrian President Vladimir Putin and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Syria
Is Abbas persecuting supporters of his rival? Ahead of the Fatah conference, activists are claiming that President Mahmoud Abbas persecutes all those suspected of supporting his exiled rival, Mohammed Dahlan. Palestine
Will Ankara feast on Turkey's largest food producer? Rumors that Turkey's largest food producer could be targeted in the government's post coup-attempt crackdown are eroding investor confidence. Turkey
