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
Jordan takes sides in Islamist rift The Jordanian government is supporting a Muslim Brotherhood breakaway society, thus deepening the divide within the group in Jordan. Jordan
Ultra-Orthodox returning to higher education Over the past few years, young ultra-Orthodox Jews have been entering academia in large numbers, a phenomenon that is transforming the ultra-Orthodox community and its relations with Israeli society at large. Israel
Hamas, Fatah ignore Carter's reconciliation attempt Hamas and Fatah are focusing on trivial issues instead of taking advantage of former President Jimmy Carter’s efforts to achieve reconciliation between the two Palestinian movements. Saudi Arabia
US works to assure Gulf allies US Secretary of State John Kerry has been in Paris to try and ease tensions with Gulf allies over the prospective Iran nuclear deal ahead of the GCC meeting in Washington. Legacy: Gulf
The battle at Qalamoun Hezbollah and the Syrian regime army have been fighting militants for control of the Qalamoun area near the border. Lebanon
How IS uses water as weapon of war The Islamic State's expanding control over the water resources of the Middle East will only compound the region's water crisis. Egypt
Comparing Iraq's Shiite forces to Iran's Basij While the circumstances of Iran's Basij and Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units share similarities, there were differences in the domestic politics of the countries during the formation of these groups. Iraq
MK Shmuli: Herzog must lead Zionist Camp in opposition In an interview with Al-Monitor, Zionist Camp Knesset member Itzik Shmuli expresses his regret for the party's failure to reconnect with the periphery. Israel
Hamas military wing dictates movement's policies Inside Hamas, the military branch is gradually taking even stronger control of the movement's institutions and blocking attempts to reach a long-term cease-fire with Israel. Palestine
Erdogan ends discussion on 'Armenian opening' Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s statement last week seemed to confirm that the Turkish-Armenian rapprochement was indeed an effort driven mainly by Abdullah Gul and blocked mainly by Erdogan. Turkey
Concerns rise over execution of IS militants Captured members of the Islamic State in Iraq are being executed, increasing the possibility of mass killings of civilians and destroying Iraq's future as a unitary state. Iraq
Libyan government wants arms embargo lifted In an interview with Al-Monitor, the spokesman for the interim Libyan government, Hatem al-Oraibi, discusses the need for the international community to lift the embargo imposed on the Libyan army and allow it to fight terrorist groups. Libya
