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
'Devotees of Death' headed for Turkey Turkey offers the ideal destination for foreign terrorist fighters to blend in after being forced out of Syria and Iraq. Turkey
Is Egypt's main opposition party switching sides? The founder of the Free Egyptians Party Naguib Sawiris took to Twitter to condemn what he believes to be the state's nationalization of his opposition party. Egypt
How Liberman is positioning himself to lead Israeli right Avigdor Liberman's strategy to take leadership of the Israeli right wing was on display at a recent Yisrael Beitenu meeting. Israel
How Palestinian left hopes to renew political system In an interview, Jamil Mezher, a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine's' political bureau, told Al-Monitor that the division between Fatah and Hamas is preventing the renewal of the political system in Palestine. Palestine
Arab mayors consider strike as Israel razes houses Israel's demolition of 11 homes in an Arab village has prompted its mayor to resign in only the first wave of outraged responses from the Arab-Israeli leadership, which has scheduled an emergency rally and is debating a mass resignation. Palestine
KRG speaker: Independent Kurdish state complex issue Kurdish parliament Speaker Yusuf Mohammed Sadiq discusses with Al-Monitor the current issues of Iraqi Kurdistan. Iraq
Why Lebanon could be spared from recent terrorism bloodshed Lebanon has been spared from the terrorism violence that has struck other neighboring countries of Syria over the past few weeks. Lebanon
Abadi enlists neighbors to support unified Iraq Iraq is shoring up political and economic relations with neighboring states to prepare for rebuilding after the defeat of the Islamic State. Saudi Arabia
Why Israel will not halt security coordination with PA Although Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government threatened to cut ties with the Palestinian Authority following the passing of UN Security Council Resolution 2334, the move seems unlikely as both parties benefit from security coordination. Palestine
Will new Airbus delivery help Rouhani's re-election bid take off? European aircraft manufacturer Airbus has delivered its first passenger jet to Iran under its $18 billion contract with the Islamic Republic. Iran
Will Rafsanjani’s death allow Rouhani to forge his own path? Has the sudden passing of Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani put the Reformist-moderate coalition in Iran at a disadvantage? Iran
Turkey faces financial disaster Turkey's decision-makers need to step up and change their destructive policies rather than inventing an international conspiracy to blame for the country's currency crisis. Turkey
