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
Israeli High Court authorizes Jerusalem Day march Despite objections, the Israeli High Court has authorized right-wing activists to hold the annual Jerusalem Day Flag Parade. Palestine
Netanyahu has self to blame for 'extortion' in Israeli politics Having formed a coalition government with only one seat to spare, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will have to devote much of his time to keeping his government intact. Israel
Gazans scavenge for food, recyclables In light of the dire economic conditions generated by the Israeli siege, Gazans search for food to eat and recyclables to sell. Palestine
Congress decides Iraqi Kurds, Sunnis aren't countries after all The annual defense bill gets a new look after backlash from Baghdad. Iraq
Iraq’s toxic partisanship continues Iraq is still hashing out its long overdue parties law, which will need ratification by the very parties it's intended to rein in. Iraq
Iran MPs deny signing bill to suspend nuclear talks A bill calling for the suspension of nuclear talks until US officials cease to make threats against Iran has faced a backlash after some members of parliament claim they were misled about the bill. Iran
The Turkey-Saudi axis against Damascus Will the US support the gains of Islamist opposition in Syria? Saudi Arabia
Is Turkish Stream a pipe dream? Turkey and Russia appear keen on the Turkish Stream pipeline project, setting aside differences, but analysts suggest there is more political than economic logic involved. Turkey
Libyan air force attacks Turkish ship Turkey’s foreign policy was the real target when Libyan forces struck a Turkish freighter off the coast of Derne, killing one crew member and wounding five others. Turkey
Egypt outlaws workers’ right to strike A court ruling in Egypt has criminalized the right to strike, which not only violates the Egyptian Constitution, but also the UN’s International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural rights. Egypt
Halt in passport process restricts Palestinian movement Some students and people seeking treatment in Gaza are unable to travel as they wait for their passports to be issued or renewed, while the Ministry of Interior slowly works on sorting out the procedure. Palestine
US willing to 'compensate' Israel on Iran deal The United States doesn’t understand why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to focus on battling the Iranian deal and rejects two large and strategic “special interest deals” with the US administration. Israel
