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 Hezbollah, Iran avenge the killing of Kuntar? The killing of veteran terrorist Samir Kuntar, adopted by Hezbollah, is perceived as a blow to Iran, which supported and nurtured Kuntar over the past year. Israel
Is Erdogan closing Hamas' Istanbul office? Israel has demanded that Turkey expel Hamas activist Salah Al-Arouri from Istanbul as a condition for normalizing bilateral relations. Palestine
US, Iran move to avert firestorm over visa waiver program changes Intense diplomacy appears to have averted a potential firestorm between the United States and Iran over changes to the visa waiver program. Congress
Star Wars: How the force awakens Islamist fears Seen by some as poison of Western cultural imperialism, Star Wars merchandise causes more controversy than the film in Turkey. Turkey
Saudi elections: Serious or just for show? Many observers criticize the recent Saudi election as a largely empty gesture, but others say it marks a first step toward societal change in the kingdom. Saudi Arabia
Zarif: Iran sees 'mostly negative signals' from US Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, in an interview with Al-Monitor, confirmed brief bilateral exchanges with Saudi counterparts and said numerous disagreements remain inside the international Syria support group on a political transition. Saudi Arabia
Is Saudi Arabia building an 'Islamic NATO?' Frustrated with weak efforts from the US-led international community, Saudi Arabia has proposed an Islamic coalition in the hopes of defeating terrorism. Legacy: Gulf
Social media fans flames of sexual harassment claims against Israeli minister Minister of the Interior Silvan Shalom believes that without any official complaint to the police, accusations of sexual harassment will just fade away, even in the era of social media backing the harassed women. Israel
Will Turkey end up stuck between Kurds, Russia? Observers wonder how long Turkey can juggle a cold war with Russia and a heated conflict with the PKK before the latter two join forces. Syria
What suspending security coordination with Israel would mean for the PLO PLO Executive Committee member Hanna Amireh predicts that the Palestinian National Council will not be able to convene in the future if the Palestinian leadership decides to suspend security cooperation with Israel. Palestine
Why Saudi Arabia needs to trust its man on Iran Considered an Iran expert in Saudi foreign policy circles, Minister Adel al-Turaifi has the background to help mend ties with Tehran; yet, he has so far been either unable or unwilling to resist pressure to take steps to achieve the exact opposite. Saudi Arabia
Ongoing war silences Yemeni indie radio station Tayramana FM, a product of the Arab Spring, is on indefinite hold, waiting for an end to the current war so it can re-establish the community it had built. Legacy: Gulf
