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
Will Netanyahu govern forever? Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims that he has no plans to advance the next election, but the leaders of the coalition know that he can make them any time it suits him. Israel
Will Jesus save Egypt's struggling tourism industry? The Egyptian government hopes that highlighting sites surrounding Jesus' flight into Egypt will boost its sagging tourism sector. Palestine
Trump demands Russia, Iran halt Assad atrocities ahead of any deal The Donald Trump administration accuses Bashar al-Assad's regime of building a crematorium to cover up evidence of mass murder. Syria
If push comes to shove, will Turkey defend Qatar against Iran? Turkey's main opposition party has lots of questions about what message Ankara would be sending to Iran, and others, by deploying troops in Qatar. Qatar
Expectations low as Erdogan arrives in DC In tomorrow's meeting, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will seek to persuade US President Donald Trump to reverse the decision to arm Syrian Kurdish militia, but Trump is unlikely to reverse course on the closest he has to a sure thing: victory in Raqqa. Syria
Will arming of YPG help open Kurdish corridor in Syria? The US decision to provide heavy weapons to the YPG for the Raqqa operation provides hope to Kurds in Syria, but Turkey worries that the arms will be used to establish a Kurdish corridor. Syria
Will Rouhani be able to weather jobs crisis? Despite a drastic cut in its "misery index" and the signing of the nuclear deal, Iran remains plagued by stubborn joblessness. Iran
Where does Hamas' policy document leave Islamic Jihad? Despite strong bilateral ties, differences over the new policy document emerged between Hamas and Islamic Jihad, raising questions on the future of their relations. Qatar
Pope Francis' Egypt visit could spark Sunni-Shiite dialogue Following Pope Francis’ visit to Egypt and his meetings with Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb and Pope Tawadros II, calls for Sunni-Shiite dialogue have been revived. Egypt
What's behind Abbas' recent threats to Hamas? Following his first meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced his intention to take unprecedented measures against Hamas, raising questions about the timing of such threats. Palestine
Police officers become victims of torture in Turkey The families of several Turkish police officers, rounded up as part of the crackdown on the Gulen community, have sought help from human rights activists in a rare example of willingness to speak out on torture allegations that have been rife since the coup attempt last year. Turkey
Netanyahu trapped between Trump, Israeli right wing US President Donald Trump would like Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s assistance in tabling the issue of moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem, but Netanyahu fears the reaction of his right-wing coalition partners. Palestine
