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
Clinton questions Jordan’s stability, provoking ire in Amman Hillary Clinton’s remarks that peace between Israelis and Palestinians depends on the stability of Jordan and the future developments in Syria sparked anger and concern among Jordanians. Palestine
Schools in crisis in Turkey’s southeast Violent unrest in Turkey’s mainly Kurdish southeast has disrupted schools and education. Turkey
Unraveling Islamic State’s Turkish recruitment scheme The recent Ankara bombing is being blamed on a suicide bomber unit of the Islamic State, known as Dokumacilar, recruited from Turkey’s southeastern province of Adiyaman. Syria
What the Aleppo offensive hides The battle for Aleppo may be a long and costly battle for Syrian regime forces due to the size of the city, the remaining large civil population and the multitude of players. Syria
Holocaust comments gaffe won't harm Bibi Even if Israeli media treated with satire, rather than drama, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's comment on the Holocaust and Palestinian leader Haj Amin al-Husseini, he scored some points again with his electorate. Palestine
Stateless in Gaza Israel has yet to transfer civil and social powers to the Palestinian Authority, thus leaving 40,000-50,000 Palestinians in Gaza stateless and without legal status. Palestine
Why Lebanon's 'You Stink' movement lost momentum The Lebanese popular movement to fight corruption in the political class has faced a number of setbacks. Lebanon
Religious events in Iraq become show of force Religious events in Iraq have come to serve as opportunities for sects to make a show of force, as tensions persist in the country. Iraq
Palestinians fired in retaliation for protests Israeli employers are dismissing Palestinian workers in settlements in the West Bank and Jerusalem, a trend with dire consequences for Israel's economy. Palestine
Israel, Palestine both stand to lose by cutting economic ties If President Mahmoud Abbas follows through with threats to end the Palestinian Authority's economic cooperation with Israel, there will be wide economic repercussions for both sides. Palestine
Could Egypt be key to political solution in Syria? The Russian air operation in Syria, the US suspension of its training program for new Syrian rebels and its rapprochement with Iran call for an Egyptian mediation to end the war in Syria. Saudi Arabia
Is Palestinian public leaving its leadership behind? Both Fatah and Hamas are facing a crisis as they know that engaging in a new intifada will destroy their rule in favor of the independent young generation. Palestine
