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
Oppressed by China, Uighurs drawn to Salafist ideas China’s oppressive policies and the increasing influence of extreme Salafist currents are inflating radicalization among the Uighur population. Turkey
Hezbollah figure killed in Syria had ties to Soleimani Jihad Mughniyah, a Hezbollah member among those killed the recent Israeli strike in Syria, had a close relationship with Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani. Iran
How will Hezbollah respond to Israeli strike? Speculation has arisen as to how Hezbollah will respond following the Israeli raid on its location in Syrian territory, which led to the killing of six of its members. Israel
Netanyahu makes ICC decision campaign issue While Europeans are suspending their criticisms until after the Israeli elections in fear of providing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with political ammunition, the ICC decision to open an investigation is being used by the Israeli right to present the Europeans as enemies. Palestine
Egypt bans 'Exodus' movie Egyptian critics consider the Culture Ministry’s decision to ban the screening of the US movie "Exodus: Gods and Kings" a result of Al-Azhar pressure, and believe it will only lead distribution companies to show more such movies. Egypt
Slow progress on Iran talks In the Jan. 18 Iran nuclear talks, top officials expressed concern about making sufficient progress to meet the March 24 agreement deadline. Congress
Congress takes first step on Iran sanctions A look at the Middle East issues Congress will be addressing the week of Jan. 19. Iran
Did Nasrallah blur red line on Assad? Hezbollah’s leader says a political solution could include Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s departure “after the end of his term”; Kerry supports Russia, UN diplomacy on Syria; Who does Israel back in Syria?; Did Turkey arm Jabhat al-Nusra?; Iran’s shallow influence in Yemen. Yemen
Behind the recent turmoil in Iran’s parliament The turmoil in Iran's parliament stems from concern about the 2016 parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections. Iran
US, Iran struggle to speed up nuclear deal US and Iranian negotiators worked intensively all week on a document to try to speed up a nuclear accord, but are still finding difficulties. Iran
Al-Qaeda's Paris attack not the first to target cartoonists Al-Qaeda's attack on Charlie Hebdo in Paris is not the group's first targeting of European cartoonists, as the group had planned to attack the offices of a Danish newspaper in 2009. Pan Arab
Obama vows to veto Iran sanctions as Zarif sees Kerry Strong words from US President Obama in support of negotiations instead of sanctions accompanied the second meeting between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Iran Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Iran
