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 one Syrian music star is making a comeback Tariq Dargham al-Swaydan was a well-known musician from Syria's Daraa region when conflict erupted in 2011; now he's trying to carry on with his work while living in Egypt. Egypt
Diplomats focus on humanitarian aid first, Syria peace talks second After Syria peace talks in Geneva suspended, diplomats look to world powers to agree on aid access and humanitarian deliverables at a meeting of the International Syria Support Group in Munich on Feb. 11 to try to revive a diplomatic process. Syria
Diyarbakir's soccer team gets yellow card for winning Diyarbakir's Amedspor soccer club is paying a heavy price for making its way to the Turkish Cup quarterfinals, defeating powerful rivals along the way. Turkey
Five reasons why Iran-Saudi conflict won't escalate Despite media speculation about war between Iran and Saudi Arabia, several domestic and international factors make that prospect highly unlikely. Saudi Arabia
Why some Israelis are taking to social media to expose sexual harassment Israeli society is undergoing a transformation as women talk about sexual harassment on social media, which is becoming the public arena for exposing misconduct instead of filing a complaint with the police. Israel
Netanyahu’s threats recall Gaza's last war Military preparations by Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip are raising speculation that a new war is on the way. Palestine
Palestinians, Israelis face off on Facebook As the armed attacks against Israelis decrease, another kind of intifada has emerged on social networking sites as Palestinians and Israelis confront each other using Twitter and Facebook. Palestine
Is Syrian regime's seizure of Sheikh Miskin a tipping point? Aided by Russian air cover, the Syrian regime retook the strategic city of Sheikh Miskin and advanced on numerous other fronts, likely affecting the Geneva III talks. Syria
Five years on, displaced Libyans languish in camps As the fifth anniversary of Libya's revolution draws near, thousands of displaced Libyans are still living as refugees in their own country, with virtually no official recourse. Libya
France, Egypt push two-state solution conference Egypt is contemplating its own initiative in order to restart Israeli-Palestinian negotiations on a two-state solution in coordination with the French Foreign Ministry’s initiative. Palestine
What happens when an anti-Zionist rabbi visits Israel On a rare visit to Israel, the anti-Zionist Satmar Rabbi distributed money to ultra-Orthodox institutions that refuse to receive state funding. Israel
Egyptian cartoonist arrested for 'unauthorized' Facebook page In an interview with Al-Monitor, Egyptian cartoonist Islam Gawish speaks about his brief detention and vows to continue with his work. Egypt
