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
A united Israeli-Arab party could force Netanyahu out Polls indicate that if the Israeli-Arab parties unite they could become a real political power, but ideological and personal issues remain. Israel
PA all talk, no action on Abu Ein’s death The PA’s tough statements in the aftermath of Ziad Abu Ein’s death appear nothing more than hot air, as it has refused to follow through with its threats to cut security coordination with Israel or accelerate steps to join international conventions. Palestine
Sisi under fire over proposed defamation law Even loyal followers of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi are up in arms about the proposed defamation law criminalizing the January 25 and June 30 revolutions. Egypt
Mothers of missing Syrians look for answers Thousands of Syrians remain missing, either abducted by armed groups or held in government prisons, leaving their anguished families distraught. Syria
Erdogan continues to consolidate power Turkey remains a parliamentary system under its present constitution, but there is little preventing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan from taking steps to fulfill his ambition of becoming the country’s paramount leader. Turkey
Gulenists defeated on first anniversary of corruption probes A year after the December 2013 corruption probes, Erdogan’s government continues to grapple with the ghosts of the covered-up scandals, while the Gulen community stands defeated in the open war it launched on the government through the probes. Turkey
US will veto Palestinian UN bid The US debated which course of action would distance Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the most from another term in office, especially in view of the Palestinian bid in its most “extreme draft” to the UN and the American veto power. Palestine
Iran warned Australia about Sydney attacker Sydney hostage-taker Man Haron Monis had long been wanted by Iran for fraud. Iran
Israeli ultra-Orthodox party locked in internal battle Ahead of Israeli elections, the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party leader Aryeh Deri is determined to drive away former Shas Chairman Eli Yishai, despite the political price to be paid by an already declining party. Israel
