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
How Turkish police could have prevented IS massacre in Ankara Recent reports in the Turkish press have fueled claims that police were more than just negligent in their failure to act on intelligence reports before the Islamic State attacked Ankara on Oct. 10. Turkey
How Rouhani is moving to boost Iran's stock market Given Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s efforts to dislodge rials locked in bank deposits, amid the weak returns of traditional investments such as gold, foreign currency and property, it appears that the Iranian stock market is set for a major influx of capital. Iran
Underground war between Israel, Hamas heats up The IDF exposed an attack tunnel dug by Hamas, which reached Israeli territory. Palestine
Is Hamas on the offensive or defensive? Hamas believes that Israel will attack the Gaza Strip again at some point, which is why it keeps arming itself and developing its rocket project. Palestine
The bill that might bring an end to Bibi's rule The Israeli opposition is united behind a Knesset bill that seeks to limit any incumbent prime minister to only two terms. Israel
Political humor no joke for Turkish satirists As the Turkish president's wrath reaches German satirists, their Turkish colleagues soldier on amid constant intimidation, prosecution and even physical attacks. Turkey
Will Popular Mobilization Units join operations to liberate Mosul? Although the Sunni forces oppose the participation of the Popular Mobilization Units in the battle for Mosul, the Iraqi government has opted for their participation in the absence of a US veto. Iraq
Why Jordan's king is criticizing his country's closest allies King Abdullah has made harsh statements against Obama’s war on IS, Saudi Arabia’s foreign policy and Russia’s policy in Syria, yet due to Amman's precarious geostrategic position he doesn't always fully stand by his own comments. Israel
US should ditch 'plan B' for Syria UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura says the fragile cessation of hostilities “continues to give hope” as Syrians anticipate the battle for Aleppo. Syria
Controversy over Italian student's murder threatens Egypt's tourism sector Ambiguity concerning the investigations into the murder of Italian researcher Giulio Regeni in Egypt will further harm the country's already declining tourism sector. Egypt
Protesters return to Egypt's streets Will Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's decision to renounce Egyptian control of two Red Sea islands to Riyadh be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, amid widespread anger at the government policies? Saudi Arabia
Former Lebanese PM brings two important messages to Moscow Despite differing views between former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Russia on the makeup of the Lebanese government, Hariri's recent visit to Moscow shows the bond between the two countries. Lebanon
