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
US House preps its own Iran sanctions bill The lower chamber says it won't just pass whatever bill the Senate comes up with. Iran
Is Erdogan losing touch with reality? Ankara’s welcoming ceremony for Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on Jan. 12 featured 16 ancient warriors, rekindling the Ottomanism debate. Turkey
Labor's new list: young, leftist, social-oriented The primary elections held by the Labor Party produced a list dominated by young left-wing candidates who are identified with the social protests, and excluding Labor's veteran politicians. Israel
Meretz Party: victim of its own convictions The left-wing Meretz Party suffers from a negative image among Jewish voters, but its greatest problem is speaking the truth and daring to criticize the government even at times of military conflict. Israel
Turkish Kurds' electoral strategy is a high-wire act Rumors of electoral collusion between the government and the Kurdish Peoples' Democracy Party (HDP) gain momentum. Syria
Erdogan, inadvertently, brings humor to Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s comically dressed warriors help Turks regain their sense of humor. Turkey
Lebanese await outcome of prisoner swap deal Lebanon has witnessed three interrelated security developments in the past few days that will prove decisive in the prisoner swap deal between the Lebanese government and Jabhat al-Nusra. Lebanon
Iran MP attacked during speech Ali Motahhari's speech on the parliament floor was cut short by his fellow parliament members after he made statements in support of ending the house arrest of the Green Movement leaders. Originals
Are Israel, Jabhat al-Nusra coordinating on attacks in Syria? Syrian opposition activists in southern Syria say Israel has played a vital role in Jabhat al-Nusra’s recent gains in Quneitra and Daraa. Israel
Egypt’s cybersecurity council prompts privacy concerns Egypt has launched a new cybersecurity division to protect its ministries and institutions from cyberattacks, but some political groups and activists are concerned it might also be used to curtail speech and monitor their online activities. Egypt
Israeli political youth movements hope for revival In contrast with veteran Israeli political parties, HaBayit HaYehudi and Yesh Atid devote considerable efforts to building their youth movements, thus cementing a strong electoral base for the future. Israel
Action needed to reform Iranian banks Poor economic conditions have led to a crisis of non-performing loans for Iranian banks. Iran
