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
Historic Iraqi homes, buildings fall to wrecking ball As urbanization is expanding in Iraq, construction companies are not taking into account the country's rich heritage and archaeological history, as historical landmarks are destroyed and replaced by modern buildings. Iraq
Incitement against Rivlin based in his own Likud Party Despite his indisputable credentials on the Israeli right, President Reuven Rivlin now finds himself the target of an incitement campaign from within his own Likud Party following statements against Jewish terrorism and efforts to build bridges between Israel’s Jewish and Arab societies. Israel
Hamas denies prisoner swap talks In an interview from Doha, Moussa Doudine, a member of Hamas’ political bureau and head of the Palestinian prisoners’ dossier, denied Israeli reports about negotiations being ongoing between Hamas and Israel on a prisoner exchange. Palestine
NGO finds work for Syrian refugees in Turkey Rizk, a nongovernmental organization affiliated with the Syrian Forum, has been able to secure jobs for many Syrian refugees in Turkey and now hopes to equip Syrians with the skills to rebuild their country when the war is over. Syria
Ahmadinejad’s chief of staff accused of links to embezzlement Iran's justice minister said that former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's chief of staff is linked to an Iranian embezzlement case. Iran
What's US really doing at Turkey's Incirlik Air Base? It is still not clear what agreement has been reached on the use of the Incirlik Air Base by anti-IS coalition planes. Turkey
Hamas denies released detainees are plotting attacks from abroad Israel says, and Hamas denies, that high-ranking military leaders and Hamas cadres are coordinating armed operations against Israel while based in countries such as Turkey, Qatar, Syria and Jordan. Palestine
Palestinians married to traditional wedding dresses Palestinians are launching initiatives to keep the henna dress, and its link to Palestinian identity and heritage, alive around the world. Palestine
Turkey's culture of fear A panic-stricken media generates public and financial insecurity in Turkey. Turkey
US, Russia in talks for UN resolution on Syria Secretary of State John Kerry has cautiously heralded US-Russian agreement over a potential UN resolution on Syria's chemical weapons, though the two sides' differences over investigative processes and resultant military action are daunting. Syria
Perilous journey for Syrians fleeing to Turkey With official border crossings between Syria and Turkey closed, smugglers have begun assisting Syrians wanting to cross into Turkey to safety and to work. Syria
Time is running out for Israelis, Palestinians Before 2017, Palestinians and Israelis will have to make major decisions that can be condensed into one critical choice: Will both leaderships decide to view their national interests as in convergence or in conflict? Palestine
