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
Congress to vote on toned-down Iran sanctions bill Senate bill doesn’t mandate what a nuclear deal should look like, undercutting sanctions opponents. Congress
Iran paper under fire for Charlie Hebdo cover An Iranian newspaper faces criticism for publishing a picture of actor George Clooney and a headline supporting French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. Iran
Charlie Hebdo's humor upsets Turkish Islamists Turks have taken to social media to criticize or applaud their government's reaction to the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris, though some individuals have threatened a Turkish newspaper with violence after its publication of Charlie Hebdo cartoons. Turkey
Turkish-Israeli ties worse than ever President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s irritation over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's presence at the Paris rally has contributed to rekindled tensions between Turkey and Israel. Israel
How Sufism could balance Salafism The historical background of Sufism in the Islamic world allows the establishment of political and religious reforms in this part of the world. Iraq
PA official: talks with Israel lead nowhere Palestinians have given up on negotiating directly with Israel, so they are developing other options like a UN resolution and multilateral talks. Palestine
Israeli-Arabs open to dialogue with Labor Party Israeli Arabs are disappointed by the Arab parties and feel that only a large party would be able to bring about a change in their socio-economic situation, hence the Labor Party must take up this challenge and renew a dialogue with them. Israel
Israeli students skip class to end teacher dispute Israeli students' nationwide strike over the cancelation of extramural activities quickly resolved a dispute between teachers and education administrators and earned them a great deal of praise. Israel
Nasrallah: 'The game is over' In an interview with pan-Arab news channel Al-Mayadeen, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah talked about sensitive regional issues, mainly the Syrian crisis, saying that "the game is over" there with the failure of hostile plans. Palestine
Egyptian women take to social media to expose harassers With Egyptian police turning a blind eye to incidents of sexual harassment, women are taking the initiative to expose sexual harassers online. Egypt
Palestinians to give UNSC bid another shot The Arab League has backed Palestinian calls for another attempt at the UN Security Council, with the Palestinians confident they can secure the needed votes after the changeover of seats. Palestine
Negotiators: 'Time cannot be wasted' at Iran nuclear talks US and Iranian negotiators met in Geneva to discuss a nuclear deal, though a new Republican-led US Congress might complicate a potential deal domestically. Iran
