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
Will Iraq pass amnesty law that could pardon terrorists? Iraqi political blocs have agreed to pass the general amnesty draft law, although there are concerns that terrorists might be released in accordance with it. Iraq
So IS is committing genocide. Now what? Congress expects the secretary of State's determination to mean something. Iraq
5 reasons Iran will be able to wait out low oil prices Iran’s decision not to take action against low oil prices is primarily motivated by the ambition to reclaim market share. Iran
Will house arrests of Green Movement leaders come to an end? After an open letter calling on President Hassan Rouhani to end the house arrest of the Green Movement leaders, the administration has been vague about fulfilling this campaign promise. Iran
Are deserted streets, shops the new normal in Ankara? Gripped by fear and panic after an unprecedented string of bombings, Ankara’s residents are shying from streets and shopping malls, hurting the local economy. Turkey
Will border region dispute threaten Egyptian-Sudanese ties? In an interview with Al-Monitor, new Halayeb-Shalateen parliamentarian Mamdouh Amara spoke about the dispute between Cairo and Khartoum over the area, as well as the main problems facing development in remote regions. Egypt
Will Riyadh cancel aid to Egypt? Saudi Arabia might be using the promise of aid or the threat of withdrawing aid to get Egypt to toe the line politically in regard to Syria. Saudi Arabia
Will Israel revive its relationship with Khartoum? Recent statements by Sudanese senior officials indicate that the country might be interested in the same kind of relations Israel has with South Sudan – especially relating to arms deals. Israel
Will Egypt renew ties with Hamas? After Egypt accused Hamas of assassinating its attorney-general, a Hamas delegation went to Cairo to try and patch things up with the new regime in Egypt. Palestine
Erdogan vows to punish thought crimes By introducing the concept of "unarmed terrorists," Turkey’s president is resurrecting the old concept of "thought crime" that he used to oppose. Turkey
Has Obama had enough of Netanyahu? President Barack Obama strongly supports the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, but is discouraged by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's repeated refusals. Palestine
Meet the Carlo The inaccurate, poorly made Palestinian rifle used in the recent shooting attacks in Jerusalem is a cheap knockoff of an antiquated Swedish gun — a sign that the uprising is still ill-equipped and untrained. Palestine
