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
Israeli women take over IDF tanks The religious Zionist movement objects to the Israeli army's decision to train female soldiers as tank crews. Israel
Turkey's 'shadowy' gold trade raises questions about Iran's involvement Unexplained rises in Turkey’s gold exports and imports have led experts to wonder whether Iran has reintroduced its trade mechanisms to circumvent international sanctions. United Arab Emirates
Netanyahu prepares for day after police indictment Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already prepared his public strategy in case the police recommend his indictment for accepting bribes. Israel
Iran's envoy in Jordan: Support for Hezbollah maintains Arab security In an interview with Al-Monitor, Iranian Ambassador to Jordan Mojtaba Ferdosipour discusses regional developments, including accusations against Iran of supporting terrorism in the Arab world. Saudi Arabia
Tunisia's Ennahda struggles to shake political Islam identity The announcement of a Saudi-led bloc’s new terrorist list that includes the International Union of Muslim Scholars has tongues wagging about the failure of Tunisia’s Ennahda movement to break free from political Islam. Tunisia
Baghdad seeks concessions before negotiating with Kurds Baghdad is demanding more than the Kurdistan Regional Government may be willing to give before the two sides can even begin talks to resolve their disputes. Iraq
Israel continues to expand in West Bank through new tourist route The Israeli government approved the construction of a new tourist route that would pass through the West Bank to the Syrian Golan Heights, raising fears among Palestinians about Israel’s attempts to maintain a permanent presence in occupied territories. Palestine
Will Egypt issue a unified public transportation card? A study is underway, headed by South Korean firms, to assess the Alexandria and Cairo transportation networks in anticipation of the release of a unified public transportation card. Egypt
Europeans help sway Congress to punt on legislation that could kill Iran deal Concerted European diplomatic efforts have helped persuade Congress to not pass legislation that would violate the Iran nuclear deal, for now. United States
Iranian oil minister moves to forge new regional partnerships At the recent OPEC meeting, Iran moved to protect its oil production and forge new regional partnerships. Saudi Arabia
Former Iran Central Bank chairman denies ever meeting Zarrab The former head of Iran’s Central Bank said he never met with jailed Turkish-Iranian tycoon Reza Zarrab. Turkey
Turkish prisons struggle to cope with demand At least 50,000 people have been jailed in Turkey since the 2016 coup attempt and there are plans to build 228 new prisons over the next five years to make room for more. Turkey
