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 risks fallout from Iran deal assault US President Donald Trump, in seeking options to exit the Iran nuclear deal, may jeopardize his administration’s goal of containing Iran’s other troubling behaviors. Congress
Erdogan’s anti-Israel rhetoric may not have impact he expects Turkey, with a fragile economy mostly dependent on the benevolence of its European partners and Israel, cannot swagger about in the Middle East. Turkey
Turkey might have to do its own dirty work at Idlib Ankara faces tough choices now that al-Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has routed Turkey's proxies at Idlib. Syria
Victories put Iranian Reformists on path to repeat past failures Consecutive electoral victories are giving rise to infighting in the Reformist camp. Iran
Iraq oil pipeline comes with major environmental costs A gas pipeline that runs from Iran to the suburbs of Baghdad has caused environmental pollution and damaged agricultural land and archaeological sites in local areas. Iraq
Syrian-Lebanese tensions rise, again The death of four Syrians in Lebanese army custody has triggered an uproar and heightened Syrian-Lebanese animosities. Lebanon
On US tour, Israeli finance minister keeps distance from trouble at home Israeli Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon's heavily publicized visit to the United States suggests he is already preparing for the next elections. Israel
New Tunisian law takes long stride toward gender equality Tunisia’s parliament passed landmark legislation to fight violence against women in the country. Tunisia
Mystery shrouds disappearance of first female mayor in Egypt’s Sharqiyah After Egyptian female activists thought that the appointment of a woman as mayor would serve the cause of female empowerment, they were surprised by her disappearance 120 days ago under mysterious circumstances. Egypt
Netanyahu's crusade against Al Jazeera in Jerusalem In an effort to repair the damage to his image caused by the Temple Mount crisis, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he will attempt to shut down Al Jazeera's Israel bureau, again. Saudi Arabia
The EU, headed by France and Germany, could replace US on Mideast With US President Donald Trump largely working solo on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the EU is preparing its own initiative, which might be launched next fall. Israel
