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
Iranian Foreign Ministry: Russian use of air base has ended A spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry said that Russia’s use of Hamedan air base has ended for now and discussed the potential for Russian, Iranian and Turkish cooperation in the region. Syria
Do Ankara, Damascus perceive common Kurdish threat? Speculation about a possible deal between Turkey and the Syrian government has intensified after Syrian fighter jets bombed Kurdish targets in Hasakah. Syria
How Israel hopes to bypass PA and win hearts of Palestinians The Israeli government recently launched a Facebook page it claims will clarify its positions toward Palestinians, without having to go through official Palestinians channels, but many are reluctant to follow it. Palestine
Turkey, Iran lay plans as honeymoon draws to close Iran appears keen to snatch Turkey away from its traditional axis, but the two sides remain at odds over the Syrian crisis, the crucial starting point for any new chapter in bilateral ties. Turkey
What's behind the Turkey-Iran tango? The coup attempt in Turkey appears to have set in motion momentum for possible cooperation between Turkey and Iran on Syria. Syria
Israel's defense minister sets out on his own path in battle against Hamas Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman's carrot-and-stick plan for the West Bank and strong retaliation against Gaza rocket fire reflect an effort to set himself apart from his predecessor, Moshe Ya'alon. Palestine
Why the PA wants to stay on good terms with Qatar The Qatari ambassador to Palestine stayed in the Gaza Strip for three weeks, holding banquets, visiting various institutions and making donations, with mixed reactions from Palestinian factions. Qatar
Iraq mulls post-IS role for PMU The Iraqi government is moving to place the Popular Mobilization Units under the control of the prime minister, though some insist that the sectarian force must be dissolved after the Islamic State is defeated. Iraq
Freedom of the press: Palestine's journalists call for action Although President Mahmoud Abbas recently reiterated that freedom of the press is absolute in Palestine, the executive branch has carried on with its abuses against journalists, in a flagrant contradiction between what's being said and what's actually happening. Palestine
Is North Korea supplying arms to Palestinian factions? The Palestinian resistance factions are seeking to conclude weapons deals with Russia, North Korea and China through the black market, yet some say a recent display of weapons was merely for propaganda purposes. Palestine
Why were 3,000 Gazans excluded from Qatari grant to pay salaries? Hamas is accusing the Ramallah government of tampering with the list of Gazan government workers who were supposed to receive payment as part of a recent grant from Qatar. Qatar
Egyptian authorities ban social media satire pages Egyptian satirists and the public figures they mock play a cat-and-mouse game on the internet. Egypt
