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
Iraqi female nurses struggle for equality Women in the health industry are looked down upon by Iraq's conservative society, but the need for nurses and for women to be employed are slowly liberalizing attitudes. Iraq
Turkey's threatened sea turtles An AKP-affiliated developer's privatization attempts on a beach preserved for endangered sea turtles has turned Dalyan’s residents into environmental activists. Turkey
Palestinian officials give contradictory media statements Senior Palestinian official Jibril Rajoub contradicted his colleague Saeb Erekat’s statements earlier in the week that the Palestinian Authority could be dissolved, raising questions over the PA’s communication strategy. Palestine
Sephardic party turns to Ashkenazi leaders for help In his bitter fight with former Sephardic Shas Party head Eli Yishai, current leader Aryeh Deri doesn't shy away from asking the help of leading Ashkenazi rabbis, whose hegemony Shas rejected when founded 20 years ago. Israel
Egyptian town welcomes ban on Jewish festival Egyptians are pleased with a court decision to ban the festival celebrating the birth of Rabbi Abu Hasira because, they say, security for it turned their village into a "military barracks." Egypt
Iran condemns Paris shooting, with caveat Iran has officially condemned the attack on French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo but also warned of "double standards" in dealing with terrorism. Iran
Why US, EU should intervene in Israeli elections The United States and European Union should explain to Israeli voters what is at stake at the international level in the March elections. Palestine
Iran's new budget to focus on privatization, subsidy reforms Iran's economic outlook remains uncertain amid fluctuating oil prices and continuing nuclear negotiations, while officials are looking to create a law that would make the country’s state budgets independent of oil export revenue. Iran
Regional powers fighting proxy war in Libya The world’s major powers are doing little to stop rival regional blocs from exacerbating the violence in Libya, despite having several UN Security Council resolutions at their disposal to help them do so. Libya
Al Jazeera’s Egypt closure deals blow to Muslim Brotherhood The suspension of Al Jazeera’s Mubasher Misr TV station in the wake of Qatar’s rapprochement with the Egyptian government has cost the Muslim Brotherhood its main media arm in the country. Qatar
What's holding up Iran nuclear deal? The US Congress must give diplomacy a real chance and not hinder nuclear negotiations with Iran. Israel
High cost of living hits Israeli-Russians hard In an interview with Al-Monitor, researcher Michael Philippov says that young Israeli-Russians are often forced to emigrate due to the high cost of living. Israel
