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
Turkey steps up action against Salafi networks Turkey has substantially increased operations against Salafi-jihadi groups in 2017, but Ankara’s real problem is deciding whether to keep them under control or eradicate them. Turkey
Why Iran-US war of words won't turn physical Despite their escalating rhetoric, neither Iran nor the United States has the incentive nor the ability to take the new cycle of tension to a military confrontation. United States
Turkey’s wealth fund is less about wealth and more about debt Turkey’s newly established sovereign wealth fund is expected to throw life preservers to companies involved in the government’s “mega-projects” and primarily owned by AKP cronies. Turkey
What's behind coordinated attacks by Hamas inmates in Israeli jails? Faced with a huge crisis, Hamas is trying to divert local pressure in the Gaza Strip away from its leadership by increasing unrest among Hamas prisoners in Israel. Palestine
Is Netanyahu counting on Israel's High Court to save him? Turkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, continuing to avoid his and his party's responsibility for the Regularization law, is hoping the High Court will strike it down. Palestine
Trump urged to name religious freedom envoy to smooth out bumpy Mideast policy Former ambassadors say Donald Trump is in dire need of an expert to "school" him on Islam. Iraq
Why Turkey’s approach to Syria may again push it to sidelines Diplomats fear that Ankara may have decided to play a reactive and obstructive role in the Syrian peace talks, rather than a positive and proactive one. Syria
Trump, Erdogan discuss Syria cooperation in first presidential call In their first call since Donald Trump became president, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pushed for an end to the US alliance with the Kurdish People's Protection Units. Syria
Turkey’s top Kurdish politician faces up to 143 years in jail The leader of Turkey’s main Kurdish party faces up to 143 years in jail on terror-related charges and is languishing in jail as the country heads to a fateful referendum. Turkey
Could Iran’s next president be former TV boss? The former head of the Iranian state broadcaster, Ezzatollah Zarghami, is increasingly being touted as a potential Principlist candidate in the May presidential elections. Iran
Iranian hard-liner slams Trump for not tearing up nuclear deal A prominent hard-liner in Iran has expressed his anger over US President Donald Trump going back on his words about tearing up the nuclear deal. United States
How Circassians maintain identity in changing Golan Many Circassians who lost their homes in Quneitra, Syria, opened their doors to Al-Monitor at nearby Madinat al-Baath, where they recounted their stories. Palestine
