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
Netanyahu plays the victim card, again Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has managed to shift the public's focus from his son Yair's nauseating behavior to trying to legislate the ability of workers to make recordings of government ministers. Israel
Israeli settlers use cemeteries to gain foothold on land The decision to bury terror victim Rabbi Raziel Shevach in the unauthorized West Bank outpost where he lived serves the settlers’ agenda of establishing facts on the ground. Palestine
Egypt to switch to cash subsidies instead of bread The Egyptian Ministry of Supply’s plan to shift from in-kind bread subsidies to cash subsidies triggered controversy amid fears of an increase in the rate of inflation. Egypt
The Palestinian village with only three residents While all of the inhabitants of the town of Shoshahla left under Israeli threats, three people have returned and continue to cling to their land and refuse to leave a second time. Palestine
Syrian Druze wary of Hezbollah, Iranian presence Since the Syrian war erupted, Iran has been trying to gain a foothold in Syria, most recently in the south, which includes trying to win over the local Druze community. Israel
Hamas' Meshaal re-emerges with Maghreb tour The former head of Hamas’ political bureau, Khaled Meshaal, paid official visits to Mauritania and Morocco, a sign of the movement’s efforts to shore up support in the region. Palestine
Border dispute among many straws weighing on Egypt's back Egypt has upped its game in, and its claim to, the Halayeb triangle border area, as Cairo's relationship with Sudan heats up. Egypt
US caught in crossfire amid flaring Jordan-Saudi tensions US Vice President Mike Pence will face flaring tensions between Saudi Arabia and Jordan over Amman’s alleged ouster of royals close to Riyadh during his upcoming trip to the region. Saudi Arabia
Macron slams door on Erdogan's EU ambitions The Turkish public's strong desire for its country to join the EU could eventually have political implications for its president, who just returned from Europe empty-handed — again. Turkey
Erdogan: No extradition to US until Turkey gets Gulen Turkey has announced it will suspend extraditions to the United States until Washington produces Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen as US-Turkish relations continue to circle the drain. Turkey
Leaked video reveals new details about election of Iran's supreme leader A leaked video from 1989 shows how Ali Khamenei became supreme leader of Iran. Iran
Europe takes center stage as Iran weighs response to Trump Though suspicion and mistrust lingers, Iran maintains hope that Europe will resist US pressure to torpedo the nuclear deal. United States
