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
Fight over Palestinian electoral lists gets technical Fatah refuses to work with the Gaza courts to resolve the disqualification of some of its electoral lists by the Central Election Commission as officials struggle to find answers in legal texts. Palestine
Hajj is 'blessed season' for Gaza shop owners Added expense and problems with transport are leading Gazans to buy hajj gifts from local markets rather than in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia
Repression of Turkish intellectuals elicits global response Nobel laureates, intelligentsia and celebrities around the world unite against the arbitrary detention of Turkish authors. Turkey
Turkey demands role in Mosul battle, but coalition unconvinced Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressed Turkey’s keenness to be part of the liberation of the two IS strongholds of Raqqa and Mosul, but continuing differences with Washington and Baghdad make this difficult. Iraq
Khamenei says manipulating numbers on economy is 'major sin' In a meeting with officials responsible for issuing statistical reports, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned against manipulation of statistics. Iran
What's next for Baghdad-Tehran ties as last MEK members leave Iraq? In a new regional victory for Iran, the last group of the exiled opposition group Mujahedeen-e-Khalq left neighboring Iraq. Iraq
Why Palestinians aren't holding their breath for Moscow meeting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has agreed to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Russia despite the latter’s rejection of the Palestinian preconditions. Palestine
Why the battle for al-Bab is pivotal in Syria As groups fighting in Syria make headway against the Islamic State, each wants to be positioned to reap the spoils of war. Syria
Can Rouhani reel in the IRGC's financial empire? Still under fire by hardliners over the nuclear deal, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani is now confronting them over compliance with international banking regulations. Iran
Can Palestinian Authority cope with decline of international aid? International aid to the Palestinian Authority fell by 70% over the last four years, significantly affecting the Palestinian government's budget, and consequently, the economy. Palestine
Even pro-settlement Israeli parties give up fighting for Amona settlers Politicians on the Israeli right appear to see the writing on the Supreme Court wall and have abandoned the battle over dismantling the West Bank outpost of Amona. Israel
What's behind Israeli report claiming Abbas was KGB spy? Israeli researchers have accused Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of having been a KGB agent, to wide criticism from Palestinians who see the claim as part of an Israeli smear campaign to get rid of Abbas. Palestine
