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
Trump promises to end 'nonsense' of arming Syrian Kurds, Turkey says Turkish officials say the US president promised Turkey’s leader that arms shipments to Kurds fighting the Islamic State would stop, but observers worry such a move will cost Washington a key partner and undermine stabilization efforts in Syria. Syria
Turkey's creative schemes aim to discredit Zarrab case in US Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his team failed to convince the United States to agree to a “diplomatic solution” in the financial crime case involving Reza Zarrab and Turkey’s top bankers and former ministers. Now, Erdogan claims the case is a conspiracy against Turkey between the United States and the Gulen movement. Turkey
Can Israeli left make peace with Judaism? Zionist Camp Chairman Avi Gabbay repeated a past statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that the Israeli left has forgotten its connection to Jewishness. Israel
Turkey’s meat row Scrambling to rein in skyrocketing meat prices, the Turkish government has again resorted to imports of cheaper meat, angering producers in the country’s already shrinking husbandry sector. Turkey
What next for PMU in Iraq's Anbar province? The flags of a powerful Shiite fighting force still fly from the main bridge into the Iraqi border town of Qaim weeks after it was retaken from the Islamic State. Iraq
Why Netanyahu actually supports Palestinian reconciliation Israel has yet to decide whether Palestinian reconciliation is good or bad for its national strategic interests. Palestine
Rift between Israel, US Jews deepens Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely's scandalous words, belittling the attachment of American Jewry to Israel, finally brought the drama of the Israel-US Jewry rift onto the Israeli public agenda. Israel
50,000 Syrians on Jordan's border trapped in world power struggle European and other officials are calling on Jordan to facilitate food transfers to Rukban, where some 50,000 displaced Syrians are being denied adequate aid. Jordan
Battle may be brewing in Sinai between al-Qaeda, IS groups As Egypt continues efforts to suppress violence in the Sinai Peninsula, a small band of al-Qaeda followers is looking to grow and challenge both Egypt's army and Islamic State loyalists. Egypt
Turks explore Ottoman past in visits to Jerusalem Turkish pilgrims and visitors are increasingly heading to Jerusalem, following Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's call on Muslims to visit the holy city. Palestine
Why did Hariri go to Cairo before returning home to Lebanon? To spare the Middle East another battleground, Cairo played a role in containing the crisis of the resignation of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri. Saudi Arabia
Palestinian artist urges women to talk about sexual harassment A project by artist Yasmeen Mjalli encourages Palestinian women to raise their voices against sexual harassment and abuse. Palestine
