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
How this Egyptian woman overcame roadblocks to become a mechanic Can Luxor-based auto mechanic Lekaa El Kholy help fix the status of women in Egyptian society? Egypt
How Palestinians plan to proceed after Trump-Netanyahu meeting Despite their disappointment over the declarations by US President Donald Trump after his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Palestinians vow to continue their diplomatic efforts. Palestine
Washington quietly rebuffs Turkish delegation’s anti-YPG efforts A high-level delegation of Turkish Foreign Ministry, military and intelligence officials has failed to persuade the United States to exclude the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units from a planned offensive to liberate Raqqa. Syria
In run-up to referendum, Turks can say anything but 'no' The Turkish ruling party's campaign to push through amendments to grant the president sweeping new powers is having absurd and sobering consequences. Turkey
Why Arab leaders cannot replace legitimate Palestinian ones The Trump-Netanyahu love fest that was broadcast around the world doesn’t bode well for Palestinians or for any possible peaceful breakthrough. Legacy: Gulf
Will major opposition groups face off in Syria? The new formation of Tahrir al-Sham, which is comprised of several Syrian opposition factions including Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, raises questions about the goals of this new group. Syria
New Tunisian electoral law raises issue of military’s role in politics The Tunisian parliament approved a new law on municipal elections, which granted military and security members the right to vote and raised concerns that the decision threatens the institutions' neutrality. Tunisia
Could Flynn actually have been good for Iran-US relations? Iranian media generally accept that Michael Flynn, who resigned after 23 days as US national security adviser, was an anti-Iran hawk, though some believe his relations with Russia could have proved useful in changing the Trump administration’s policies toward Iran. Russia
Resumption of Iranian oil shipping off to slow start While many are hailing Iran's first oil tanker reaching European shores as an important development, the country's energy sector must still overcome several more hurdles. Iran
Egypt swears in new Cabinet members after tough search Egypt faced a lot of rejections before it was able to field nine new Cabinet members. Egypt
Palestinians work for Abbas-Trump meeting next After positive meetings with CIA Director Mike Pompeo, the Palestinian leadership believes it is in the interest of President Donald Trump to also hear the Palestinian side of the story. Palestine
Trump and Netanyahu's White House vanity fair Israel and the Palestinians need a determined and well-informed US president who can promote the establishment of a Palestinian state while normalizing Israel’s relations with Arab countries, not the other way around. Palestine
