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
Assad, Turkey hamper US assistance for Syria The Assad regime’s territorial gains and the Turkish offensive in Afrin are conspiring to keep the world’s largest aid donor on the sidelines. Syria
US troop drawdown seen as boosting Iraq’s Abadi The US decision to withdraw troops from Iraq could help the Iraqi prime minister’s re-election campaign. Iraq
Netherlands withdraws ambassador from Turkey Turkish and Dutch relations are once again under strain as the Dutch ambassador is recalled from Ankara. Turkey
Lebanon gears up for a 'realignment' election Is the excessive and precarious pandering to voters ahead of Lebanon's first parliamentary elections since 2009 a prelude to a post-election realignment of the political system? Lebanon
Ankara eyes next options in Afrin offensive Indications from Ankara and the battlefield suggest Ankara is opting for urban warfare instead of a long siege on Afrin in Syria. Syria
IDF sounds alarm on Gaza The Israeli government has been warned by the military that Gaza is on the verge of a humanitarian crisis and that Israel must act to avoid its total collapse. Palestine
Russia's retaliation for downed jet has just begun Many questions are being raised about the Russian jet shot down Saturday over Idlib, Syria, and Russia is investigating to find out who actually did the shooting and who supplied the weapons. Syria
Egypt's authorities seek to wipe out graffiti artists Egyptian graffiti artists keep a low profile, fearing that they will be arrested both for vandalism and political charges. Egypt
An archive of resistance: Documenting Egypt's revolution As videos of the Egyptian regime’s violations during the 2011 and 2013 uprisings were disappearing from social media, the Mosireen Collective launched an online archive to keep the memory of the Arab Spring alive in the minds of citizens. Egypt
Palestinian family executes son suspected of spying for Israel Rights organizations in Gaza strongly condemned the execution of a Palestinian accused of collaborating with Israel by his own family, arguing that such cases belong in the courts. Palestine
Will Hamas’ call for national conference be heeded? Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh recently called for a national conference of all Palestinian political forces, but Fatah is wary of such a move, believing it to be an attempt to sideline or replace the PLO. Palestine
Artists turn to walls, internet in war-torn Yemen Galleries and cultural centers in Yemen have long been a casualty of war. Local artists, however, use walls to express their creativity and anger. Yemen
![A picture taken on February 3, 2018, shows smoke billowing from the site of a downed Sukhoi-25 fighter jet in Syria's northwest province of Idlib.
Rebel fighters shot down a Russian plane over Syria's northwest Idlib province and captured its pilot, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
/ AFP PHOTO / OMAR HAJ KADOUR / The erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadata of this photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: [in Syria's northwest province of Idlib.](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2018/02/GettyImages-913730440.jpg/GettyImages-913730440.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=ehUK8ZcX)
