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
Quarrying leaves West Bank villagers on shaky ground Residents of the West Bank village of Kur have been complaining for a decade that a nearby stone-crushing operation is harming the environment and threatening their historic landmarks and homes. Palestine
What is Chechnya's Kadyrov up to in Middle East? Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has recently been engaging leaders in the Middle East, but not just with Chechnya's interests in mind. Saudi Arabia
Erdogan's shifting rationale on Syria Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's latest rationale for Turkish forces entering northern Syria point to a long-term engagement. Syria
Israel's Knesset dominated by extremist bills Despite the objection of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the Settlement Regularization bill, and despite the objection of President Reuven Rivlin to the law against the muezzin call, the right-wing camp advances both law proposals in the Knesset. Israel
Castro’s death elicits mixed coverage in Iranian media Cuban leader Fidel Castro’s death has drawn varied reactions from politicians, commentators and media in Iran. Iran
Turkish companies flout law for cheap Syrian labor Unemployment in Turkey has reached 11.3%, and Syrian refugees have become a convenient scapegoat. Syria
Erdogan comes face to face with US, Russia in Syria Turkey may have gone into Syria to push back Syrian Kurds, but it now finds itself confronting both Russia and the United States. Syria
Why jailed founders of Egyptian youth movement have not been pardoned The youth pardon committee set up by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has not recommended the release of three young political activists who participated in Egypt’s revolutions. Egypt
Jordan, Fatah’s Achilles’ heel Jordan is perhaps Fatah’s most strategic geographic partner, and thus it was a no-brainer that Fatah accepted the request by Jordan not to have any Jordanian Palestinian delegates attend the seventh Fatah congress. Palestine
How Trump can deal with Iran-GCC conflict Looking ahead, the election of Donald Trump can pave the way for the establishment of initiatives to jump-start a dialogue between Iran and the Gulf Cooperation Council. Legacy: Gulf
Dahlan loyalists announce alternative Fatah conference As Fatah convenes its leadership conference today, excluded leader Mohammed Dahlan and his current have promised to hold a parallel conference. Palestine
Lebanon halts work as Palestinians reject wall around refugee camp The Lebanese government’s decision to build a wall at the southern Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh sparks angry reactions from Palestinian factions. Palestine
