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
The Israeli cat transfer scheme Israeli Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel had to retract his scheme to expel street cats to another country and accept the state veterinary plan of sterilizing them. Israel
Egyptian state takes on independent trade unions After Egypt recently declared independent trade unions invalid, many groups said they will fight the decision on the grounds that it violates the constitution. Egypt
Will Syrian Kurd self-rule trigger Turkish action? Experts argue that Turkey might not react to the announcement of the Federal Democratic System of Rojava and Northern Syria by Syria’s Kurds, as Ankara is currently embattled with its own Kurds on the inside. Syria
Is the PA denying Gazans passports? Palestinians in Gaza are wary of a potential closure of the Bar Association, acting in its capacity as Foreign Ministry, in light of its recent controversy with the State Audit & Administrative Control Bureau. Palestine
Why Breaking the Silence is prime target for Israeli right The Israeli NGO Breaking the Silence draws more fire than any other anti-occupation organization because it defies an Israeli taboo: discussing the activities of the military. Israel
The effort to break Breaking the Silence The Israeli right wing appears to be succeeding in wrongly portraying the campaign of Breaking the Silence as a threat to the state and the Israeli military. Israel
Unemployed Iraqis join in looting of antiquities As security chaos persists and jobless rates soar, little can be done to protect Iraq's thousands of archaeological sites from illegal excavations. Iraq
Has there been a breakthrough in Hamas-Egypt ties? A Hamas visit to Egypt ended on a positive note, which might push the Egyptians to stop the incitement campaign against the movement. Palestine
How Israeli politicians are exploiting Brussels attacks Just as he did after the attacks in Paris, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his colleagues on the Israeli right are keen to point out connections between the terrorism striking Europe and Israel's domestic security issues. Israel
Bosporus 'bulls' defy terrorist threat Turkey’s financial markets have continued to rally despite a string of bloody terrorist attacks, but their festive mood could sour at a stroke. Turkey
Head of Iran's state TV skips 10 days of work ... or did he? Iran's national television is once again caught up in rumors, this time about the resignation of its president. Iran
Is corruption suspect's US arrest bad news for Erdogan? The US arrest of Reza Zarrab, allegedly a key figure in Turkey’s bribery and corruption scandal, has set off alarm bells in Ankara. Turkey
