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
Ultra-Orthodox start to join 'startup nation' Six high-tech startups by ultra-Orthodox Israelis, some of them women, were selected by the Kamatech accelerator project for mentorship and funding assistance. Israel
Yachimovich offensive a bid for Labor leadership Preparing for a term in the opposition and for next year's party primaries, former Labor head Shelly Yachimovich has come out against the Zionist Camp's dual leadership, taking aim in particular at Tzipi Livni. Israel
Restrictions on Iraq's displaced people worsen Shiite-Sunni divide Discrimination against Sunnis by Shiites is rampant in Iraq, raising distrust between Sunni and Shiite communities and aggravating the situation of internally displaced people. Iraq
Gaza movie theaters remain shuttered Movie experts and officials are calling on the Gaza Ministry of Culture to reopen the movie theaters that were closed down during the first intifada. Palestine
New Knesset supports two-state solution With Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman joining the opposition, the balance of power in the Knesset is clearly in favor of those supporting a two-state solution. Palestine
Price impact of Iranian oil uncertain, says US official In an interview with Al-Monitor, Amos Hochstein, special envoy and coordinator for International Energy Affairs at the US State Department, says Middle Eastern countries are increasingly investing in renewables, international oil companies are returning to Egypt and Israel needs get its regulatory house in order if it wants foreign investments in offshore natural gas. Legacy: Gulf
Congress ponders next step for rejecting Iran deal Republicans won't let a veto threat stop them from voicing their opposition. Congress
Ankara's relations with Cairo still frosty despite Saudi mediation Saudi Arabia is reportedly working for a thaw between Ankara and Cairo, but little is likely to change before the general elections in Turkey. Egypt
PA fails at curbing 'rampant' corruption Surveys show that Palestinians believe that corruption is increasing under the Palestinian Authority, which has not even held required presidential and parliamentary elections. Palestine
Restricted by Israeli boats, Gaza resorts to fish farms Israel prevents Gaza’s fishermen from going too far from shore to fish pushing consumers to buy from fish farms at lower prices. Palestine
Revitalizing Iraq's ports, airways in the shadow of IS In an interview with Al-Monitor, Transport Minister Baqir Jabr al-Zubeidi elaborates on his ministry’s commitment to overcoming the budget deficit amid the country’s troubled security situation. Iraq
US, international community should take lead on two-state solution To advance toward a two-state solution, the United States and the international community must change the paradigm of seeking an agreement only through direct negotiations and adopt an approach favoring independent steps. Palestine
