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
Gaza universities struggle to stay afloat Gaza’s universities are cutting professors’ salaries, reducing grants and increasing tuition fees as a result of the financial crisis plaguing the Gaza Strip. Palestine
Rajoub: Abu Ein's death will spark uprising, not violence Senior Fatah officials blame Israel for the death of Palestinian Cabinet Minister Ziad Abu Ein, as does Jibril Rajoub, who says that in spite of the death of a “man of peace,” the nonviolent uprising will continue, while Israel fears escalation. Palestine
Besieged Aleppo residents turn to farming Residents in the rebel-held part of Aleppo are planting vegetables and raising animals in preparation for the impending regime siege. Syria
Shadow government set up in Erdogan’s white palace Worried about corruption investigations and intent on holding on to power, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is setting up a shadow government. Turkey
Russian DFM talks Syrian issue with Hezbollah Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov met with a wide range of Lebanese leaders during a visit to Beirut and told everyone what they wanted to hear. Lebanon
Russia steps up its Middle East policy Russia has recently increased its diplomatic efforts in the Middle East on a variety of fronts, ranging from Arab-Israeli peace to trade with Lebanon and military cooperation with Sudan. Iraq
Abadi vows to hunt 'ghost soldiers' Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has publicly addressed the issue of "ghost" soldiers and employees, an aspect of rampant state corruption, and promised to fight the problem. Iraq
Iran official calls for UN investigation of CIA torture Long a target of human rights sanctions, Iran has called for a UN investigation into human rights violations by the United States. Iran
On Israel's left, Herzog is Livni's real electoral challenge The ''anyone but Bibi'' trend sweeping Israeli politics lately might harm the Likud Party and help Labor and opposition leader Isaac Herzog, but according to polls it does not reduce the overall size of the right-wing camp. Israel
In natural gas, all pipelines go through Turkey Natural gas from Iraq is to reach Turkey in 2017, Azeri gas is to arrive in 2018 and Iran, Russia and Israel also want to sell their natural gas via Turkey. Iraq
Arab parties push for unity ahead of Israeli elections As the Knesset prepares to debate proposed laws that would significantly damage political activity by the Palestinian parties, Arab members weigh their options while debating ways to increase their collective power in parliament. Israel
Israel, PA seek to prevent Hamas from igniting West Bank Joint security efforts in the West Bank between the Palestinian Authority and Israel aim to prevent Hamas cells from instigating strife. Palestine
