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
Rouhani: Khomeini chose peace when necessary Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has said that late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini knew when it was time to make peace. Iran
Hezbollah's tactical shift against Israel Hezbollah is opening another front against Israel in the Golan Heights, where it can blame other organizations for possible escalations. Israel
Why is Turkey censoring lingerie, antique books? Turkey's Web watchdog is turning into a "wicked" censorship monster that can arbitrarily target any website, from global prosperity indexes to LGBT forums. Turkey
Iraqi Kurdish land grabs anger Sunni Arabs As Iraqi Kurds benefit from coalition airstrikes and take control of former IS safe havens, they are aggravating tensions with some Sunni Arab communities. Iraq
Israeli candidates offer shallow slogans on security The escalation on Israel's northern border should have driven Israeli politicians to explain their specific security approaches, but most of them chose to repeat the usual deterrence slogans, without any reference to other diplomatic options. Israel
Rockets fall on Damascus Jaish al-Islam began a wide-scale rocket attack on Damascus in response to the Syrian regime’s shelling of eastern Ghouta, which allegedly killed civilians. Syria
Hezbollah answers Israeli attack Al-Monitor reports on the ground from the site of Wednesday's confrontation. Israel
Iraqi folk poets face criticism Some Iraqi intellectuals say the the spread of folk poems butchers the classic Arabic language and serve the interests of political parties. Iraq
Al-Qassam youth training camps open again The Vanguards of Liberation camps, previously organized under the supervision of the Education and Interior Ministries in Hamas-run Gaza, are now under the control of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, which some think might be using the camps to recruit young men as fighters. Palestine
Israel shows restraint in Hezbollah retaliation Hezbollah’s attack on an Israeli patrol in Lebanon’s occupied Shebaa Farms was expected to break into an all-out war on Lebanon, but sources told Al-Monitor that Israel was asked not to engage in such a war. Israel
Greece election result brings hope to Palestinians President Mahmoud Abbas and the Hamas movement welcomed the victory of the Syriza Party in the Greek elections, which promised during its electoral campaign to work on recognizing the Palestinian state. Palestine
Fake bomb detectors still endanger Iraqis Despite the exposure and imprisonment of British businessman James McCormick for selling fake bomb detectors to several countries, Iraqi security officials continue to justify the use of these devices. Iraq
