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
Tightened security backfires at Al-Aqsa Israel has taken measures to limit the number of Palestinian worshippers at Al-Aqsa Mosque so that Jewish visitors can pray there, but the steps seem to be increasing rather than soothing tensions. Palestine
Kurdish National Council: We must remove the top of the pyramid in Syria In an interview with Al-Monitor, the head of the Kurdish National Council, Ibrahim Biro, talked about his party’s opposition to the Syrian regime, and stressed that a federal system is needed in Syria to integrate all of Syria’s sectarian and ethnic components. Syria
Netanyahu's double standards on settlement product labels Israel reached agreement in 2005 with the European Union to identify settlement products on export certificates, yet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hints at the Holocaust in objecting to the Europeans' decision to require labeling these products to inform consumers of their origin. Palestine
How Erdogan exploits Syrian refugees Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan had hoped a wave of Syrian refugees, created with assistance to the Islamic State, would force NATO to act against Syria's Bashar al-Assad, and when that failed, he allowed the refugees to move westward to pressure Europe. Israel
Reform Judaism grows in Israel Though the pushback from some ultra-Orthodox politicians and others is still harsh, the leaders of the Israel movement for Reform and progressive Judaism feel that more Israelis are opening up to them and supporting their vision of Judaism and solidarity. Israel
Congress rethinks anti-Assad stance Senate Democrats are beginning to question regime-change goals amid Islamic State gains. United Arab Emirates
Egyptian Coptic Church tapped to play mediator in Nile River dispute Egypt is looking to capitalize on the Coptic Church’s disputed influence to affect relations between Ethiopia and Egypt on the Nile water-sharing and Renaissance Dam dossier. Egypt
Khamenei asks IRGC to prevent 'enemy’s influence' Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei spoke to Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders, asking them to protect the country from foreign influence. Iran
Is Saudi Arabia up to the task of protecting the 'House of God'? With construction issues at the Grand Mosque and the threat of Islamist militants, the hajj presents a unique challenge to Saudi organizers every year. Saudi Arabia
Libyan locals give 'dignified end' to unidentified refugee victims Many of those attempting to reach Europe from Africa or the Middle East by sea drown en route, with their bodies washing ashore on the Libyan coast, far away from their loved ones. Libya
US to name coordinator for implementing Iran nuclear deal With the Iran nuclear deal expected to survive congressional review, the Obama administration is preparing to pivot from defending the deal to the crucial task of implementing it, with diplomat Stephen Mull leading the new office to coordinate JCPOA implementation for the US government. Congress
Refugees risk it all Even daily tragedies at sea don’t stop Syrian refugees from risking their lives and those of their families trying to get to Europe from Turkey. Syria
