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
Why is Baghdad removing checkpoints during security crisis? While barriers and checkpoints deployed across Baghdad are being removed, a series of terrorist attacks occurring in the capital recently raises many concerns about the government's ability to prevent violence. Iraq
How Rouhani’s main asset became his biggest liability Seeing the nuclear deal — what was supposed to be his main asset — turn into his main liability, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s best bet is continued disunity among his conservative foes. Iran
Egyptian campaign utilizes children as first defense against abuse An Egyptian NGO has launched a campaign that helps children recognize abuse and feel comfortable reporting sexual assaults against them. Egypt
Three days in March: New details on how US, Iran opened direct talks Al-Monitor has learned that in the first few days of March, American officials secretly met with an Iranian delegation at a beach-side villa in Oman. Iran
Iran judiciary chief clashes with Rouhani once again The conservative head of Iran’s judiciary says the president has been accused of getting money from a jailed billionaire. Iran
Political Islamists brace for Trump era The president-elect and his advisers take a dim view of the Muslim Brotherhood and its cousins, but could shutting them out end up hurting America the most? Egypt
Turkish leaders cry conspiracy as hunt for Reina attacker continues In a now familiar pattern, the Turkish authorities are denying any responsibility for the intelligence lapses linked to the stream of terror attacks that have shaken the country and whipping up fury against their opponents to deflect attention from Turkey’s ballooning other problems. Turkey
Turkish-Iranian rivalry may derail Syrian peace efforts Despite the Moscow Declaration, in which Russia, Turkey and Iran pledged joint efforts to end the war in Syria, the ongoing regional rivalry between Ankara and Tehran could lead to snags in the settlement process. Syria
Why are Yazidis being uprooted again? The Yazidis of Iraq who escaped Islamic State assaults and took refuge at a camp in Turkey have been told to pack up and move to other camps. Iraq
How Iran sees Russian-Turkish deal on Syria Although it was left out of Russia and Turkey’s announcement of a cease-fire agreement in Syria, Iran is very much involved on the stage as the Moscow-Ankara accord builds on a trilateral understanding with Tehran. Syria
Is Iraqi Kurdistan heading toward civil war? Iraqi Kurdistan is bracing itself for further political instability, economic hardship and armed conflict after the Islamic State has been defeated. Iraq
Bizarre Jerusalem family case shows peace, settlements incompatible The bizarre case of the Sublaban family reflects how the Israeli settlement policy has spun out of control as a couple has been allowed to stay in its Jerusalem home for 10 years on condition that their children can’t stay with them. Palestine
