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
What's next for Middle East peace? The Obama administration is deliberating three options and measures to take in order to stabilize the volatile situation on the ground and set a policy platform for a future two-state solution. Palestine
Barghouti: We will continue to boycott Israel Mustafa Barghouti, the secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative, talked to Al-Monitor about the initiative’s local and international efforts to end the occupation and settlement activities through a boycott of Israel. Palestine
Should Israelis fear biometric database? The Israeli government is likely to soon decide whether to establish a biometric database of all citizens, a move strongly opposed by cybersecurity experts and civil rights groups. Israel
Has Israel's civil war already started? The incitement campaign against Israel's right-wing President Reuven Rivlin, who dared expressing sympathy to Gazans' suffering, has broken all records of hatred and verbal violence. Israel
Why it's time to wake up to the occupation The murder of the Dawabsha family was not the actual trigger of the current wave of violence, but another link in the long chain of incitement and hatred generated by the Israeli occupation. Palestine
Tunisia wins, Iran loses in US spending bill Key US allies get a funding boost while Congress holds the line on visa waivers and Palestinian penalties. Palestine
Turkey's blurred red line on Russia With recent scuffles between Moscow and Ankara, further instability threatens the Middle East conflict; but will either country really push things that far? Syria
Iran's military bulks up with new Russian tanks Tehran plans to purchase T-90 tanks from Russia, but is it enough to strengthen the Iranian military? Saudi Arabia
Rouhani announces sanctions to be removed by January After the IAEA resolution concluding that Iran has not conducted weapons-related researched in their nuclear program since 2009, President Hassan Rouhani declared that sanctions will be removed by January. Iran
Why is Israel recruiting so many Jordanian workers? Israel is recruiting hundreds of Jordanian workers and dismissing some Palestinians from their jobs, raising questions about Israel's motivation. Israel
Lebanon's controversial candidate for president Saad Hariri’s nomination of Suleiman Franjieh as president has sparked wide controversy in Lebanon and brought opposing parties together. Lebanon
Israel welcomes home suspected spy from Egypt Released prisoner Ouda Tarabin recounts to Al-Monitor his 15 years in an Egyptian prison over accusations of spying for Israel. Egypt
