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
Egypt proposes inheritance protections for women Lawmakers are considering a plan that would spell out prison sentences and fines for people who try to keep inheritances from being distributed fairly to rightful heirs, a problem that especially affects women. Egypt
Blind couple displaced by Syria war rebuild life in Egypt A Syrian couple displaced to Egypt decide to stay put and not accept the UNHCR offer for resettlement in France. Egypt
Iranian MPs move to hand control over bond market to Central Bank Iran’s moderate-leaning parliament appears to be pushing for control over the lucrative bond market to be given to the central bank. Iran
Iran's Rouhani warns military not to intervene in elections Just three months before Iran’s presidential election and with conservative figures announcing their candidacy, President Hassan Rouhani warned military institutions against interfering in the vote. Iran
Why is Erdogan rushing into a referendum now? While Turkey's economic and security vulnerabilities increase, Erdogan has run out of enemies to rally his base against for the April referendum. Turkey
Will 'conservative' justices deliver for the Israeli right? Right-wing Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked's declarations of victory in getting conservatives appointed to the Supreme Court might be premature. Israel
How state report on Israel’s Gaza war will impact Netanyahu The Israeli state comptroller's report on the 2014 Gaza War criticizes the decision-making process overseen by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon. Israel
Despite tough talk, US unlikely to take on Iranian forces in Iraq The new US administration has adopted strict stances toward Iran, but any military clash between the United States and the factions Iran supports in Iraq would only increase Iranian influence. Iraq
Are Israel's border police blocking entry of human rights activists? Human rights organizations claim that Israel’s border police prevent the entry of activists who are critical of the government's occupation policy. Israel
A glimmer of hope for Egypt's Syrian refugee children An Egyptian NGO in 6th of October City is making efforts to prevent Syrian children from dropping out of school. Egypt
Rift widens between Egyptian president, Al-Azhar Tensions have emerged in the relationship between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Al-Azhar, with the former promoting reform that the latter finds unacceptable, rejecting governmental influence on religion. Egypt
Iran pulls Palestine from the margins The Iranian leadership turns out in force for Palestinian conference; Turkey’s victory in al-Bab may be a prelude to a showdown with the Syrian Kurds. Palestine
