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
Can Erdogan bully Turkey's armed forces into invading Syria? Following his failure in Aleppo, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s eagerness for a military intervention in Syria is stronger than ever, but will the Turkish military acquiesce to his plans? Syria
How new restrictions block Palestinian peace activists from Israel New Israeli permit restrictions severely limit the ability of Palestinian activists to enter Israel to conduct peace-related activities. Palestine
How fighters are filtering across the Syrian-Turkish border Turkey is handling tens of thousands of refugees trying to cross its border from Syria, but isn't sure how it will deal with the accompanying militants, their families and IS-affiliated fighters. Syria
How one Palestinian minister is empowering women Palestinian Minister of Women’s Affairs Haifa al-Agha speaks to Al-Monitor about her accomplishments in advocating for Palestinian women in society and her future endeavors to further empower women on social and political levels. Palestine
What else is going on in Netanyahu's house? Following the court's decision in favor of Meni Naftali, the ex-employee has disclosed that there are more details yet to be revealed about the dysfunction in the prime minister's residence. Israel
Syria's Sharia courts Sharia courts founded by armed groups in Syria are currently the sole judicial power in the areas outside the regime’s control. Syria
Why Netanyahu pretends to care for progressive Judaism The compromise over prayer space at the Western Wall for progressive Jews doesn't mean that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is now on their side, but that he had no choice but to make a concession to the non-Orthodox. Israel
Obama's anti-IS envoy: Shiites saved Iraq President Obama's envoy praises all sides in a bid to keep the coalition together. Iraq
Will Kerry be able to salvage Syria peace talks? US Secretary of State John Kerry said he was preparing to test Russian seriousness as he and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed possible Syria cease-fire arrangements. Syria
What's next for Syria? As new talks commence on solving the Syria crisis, the international community speculates on what Russia's first move will be. Syria
Egyptian taxi drivers protest 'unfair competition' from Uber Taxi drivers in Egypt say ride-sharing services Uber and Careem do not have to meet the same regulations taxis do and do not pay their fair share of taxes. Egypt
Iran defends its support for Syria, Iraq Iranian officials and media argue that the fight against terrorists in Syria and Iraq is in defense of Iran. Syria
