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
Syrian fighter's story one of tragedy, greed In search of money and power, one young Syrian man considered signing up with the army, then joined a rebel faction and later the Islamic State, but was ultimately rewarded with death. Syria
Erdogan Islamizes education system to raise 'devout youth' Religious education may become compulsory in primary schools in Turkey following the transformation of hundreds of secular schools into religious education establishments. Turkey
What happened at anti-IS coalition meeting? A diplomatic source participating in the gathering of the international coalition against the Islamic State told Al-Monitor that Turkey sought to undermine its regional rivals for its own interests. Iraq
Rouhani criticizes consolidation of power in government Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has indirectly criticized the economic power and influence of the Revolutionary Guard Corps. Iran
Egypt cautiously accepts reconciliation with Qatar Egypt has accepted a Gulf initiative launched by Saudi Arabia to achieve reconciliation between Cairo and Doha, with the former stressing that Qatar stop supporting the Muslim Brotherhood. Saudi Arabia
Egypt tackles embezzlement Egypt’s judiciary will consider a new reform to allow for amicable settlement between the government and those accused of embezzlement, bringing in recovered funds but also possibly legalizing corruption. Egypt
Why Davutoglu's Armenian adviser angered AKP deputies One should listen to Etyen Mahcupyan, now top adviser to Ahmet Davutoglu, to see both a sophisticated defense of the AKP but also to see where exactly it goes wrong. Turkey
Hamas in Turkey on alert after Israeli complaint Hamas officials in Turkey are taking precautions after Israel’s complaint to NATO against Ankara for hosting the Palestinian Islamist group, fearing that Israel might resume assassinating its leaders abroad. Palestine
Business as usual: Turkey's never-ending love of the bribe Some 46% of Turkish businessmen believe corruption won’t end, while the country sinks lower in the global transparency index. Turkey
How will Saudis adapt to low oil prices? Saudi Arabia will have to rely on its reserves and cut its projects and other aid to cope with falling oil prices, a tall task for a rentier state. Saudi Arabia
European Muslim groups angered by inclusion on UAE's terror list The UAE's recently published list of 85 "terrorist" organizations has prompted an outcry from the European Islamic organizations included on it. United Arab Emirates
US must encourage Israeli voters to seek end to conflict While Israeli voters prepare for elections, US President Barack Obama should not echo former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's unconditional support for Israel: He should instead show voters the price of their leaders' refusal to negotiate with the Palestinians. Israel
