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
Congress threatens to go ballistic over Russian arms sales to Iran Lawmakers demand tough sanctions on conventional weapons violations. Congress
Will Israel throw Erdogan a lifesaver? The roles appear to have been reversed, with Turkey more keen on mending fences today than Israel. Israel
Israel's war between the Jews While the international community keeps trying to end the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, many Orthodox Israelis reject not only Arabs but all also other Jews. Israel
How Iran views the Russian withdrawal from Syria Iranian media and analysts speculate on Russia's sudden decision to pull some of its troops from Syria and what this means for the fate of the cease-fire. Syria
Can Coptic Church help solve Egyptian-Ethiopian dam dispute? Bishop Beeman, who coordinates ties between the Egyptian and Ethiopian Coptic churches, has told Al-Monitor that the church could play an indirect role in solving the Renaissance Dam crisis between the two countries. Egypt
Why some in Israel are pushing for a two-year budget Opposition party leaders Yair Lapid and Avigdor Liberman are disappointed by Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, who affirmed that he intends to stay in the coalition. Israel
Will Gulf sanctions impact Lebanon’s banking sector? Although the recent decisions by Gulf states to impose political and economic measures on Lebanon’s Hezbollah sparked concerns about the impact on the country’s economy, experts in the field say Lebanese banks will be able to overcome this phase. Legacy: Gulf
Will Israel, Turkey decide the fate of Gaza? Reports on a possible Israeli-Turkish agreement on the construction of a floating harbor off the Gaza Strip and that would be served from Turkish Cyprus rekindled internal Palestinian wrangling between Fatah and Hamas. Palestine
How this new divorce law further marginalizes Gaza's women The Sharia court in Gaza has ruled that husbands can divorce their wives on grounds of abuse, which also relieves the men of having to pay the women support. Palestine
Najaf's forgotten Christian heritage Historic Christian sites in Najaf are not only neglected like many other ancient sites across Iraq, but face an even steeper uphill battle for recognition and support as non-Islamic sites. Iraq
How will Iran take care of its aging population? Iran has five years to address the underfunding of its pension system or face an economic and budgetary crisis. Iran
Putin to Assad: Do svidaniya Russian President Vladimir Putin is saying "do svidaniya" — goodbye — to Syria, announcing the start of a Russian military withdrawal that Putin said he hoped would bolster Syria peace talks underway in Geneva. Syria
