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
Settler delusions of security Israeli settlers are pressuring the government for more investment in security, but no matter how generous the ultimate outlay, it will not prevent the next wave of casualties from terrorism as long as the occupation status quo persists. Israel
The road to rebuilding Raqqa The city of Raqqa, newly liberated from the Islamic State by the Kurdish-led and US-supported Syrian Democratic Forces, will now face the challenges of reconstruction and uprooting the jihadi threat once and for all. Iraq
Netanyahu unfaithful to Zionism vision By turning its back on Israeli Arabs and distancing Reform and Conservative Jewish communities, the Netanyahu government denies the fundamentals of Zionism. Israel
Egyptian judges forced into military re-education classes In a lecture series reminiscent of Gamal Abdel Nasser's socialist indoctrination program, the Egyptian government is forcing judges and other members of the judiciary to undergo training in "strategic and national security studies." Egypt
Israel holding Gaza militants' bodies as bargaining chips Israel decided not to return the bodies of Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas members until some progress is made on returning the Israeli civilians and the bodies of IDF soldiers held by Hamas. Palestine
US sticks by Lebanese army despite Hariri resignation State Department and Defense Department officials tell Al-Monitor that US military assistance is unaffected by Beirut’s latest political crisis. Saudi Arabia
IRGC commander denies Trump claim on Saudi missile attack IRGC commander Mohammad Ali Jafari denied that Iran was involved in the Yemeni missile attack on Riyadh. Saudi Arabia
One year into crackdown, Turkey’s pro-Kurdish opposition battered but defiant Nine members of the Peoples’ Democratic Party remain in prison a full year after the detentions on terrorism-related charges began, and joint leader Selahattin Demirtas’ first day in court is scheduled for Dec. 7. Turkey
Photography, opera come together in Tel Aviv A new exhibition invites seven leading Israeli photographers to interpret the Israeli Opera 2017-2018 season through their own perspectives. Israel
Iraq-Turkey border confusion: Who's in charge here? The sight of Turkish soldiers at the Habur border crossing with Iraq for the first time in 26 years raised many questions and a lot of conflicting answers. Iraq
Kurdish rift emerges between Erdogan, Putin A fundamental disagreement over the role of Syria’s Kurds threatens to wreck Turkey’s partnership with Russia, atop already simmering tensions with the United States. Syria
Lebanese artists voice social concerns Yasmine Hamdan, who, along with Mashrou' Leila, is known abroad as one of the most polıticized singers of Lebanon, says her music forms an archive of the changes and challenges that confront her country. Egypt
