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
Syria strengthens Turkish-French ties French President Francois Hollande met with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Paris on Oct. 31 to discuss the crisis in Syria. Syria
The Middle East 'mastermind' who worries Erdogan Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his team apparently see the Middle East not as chaos populated by many independent actors, but as a chessboard whose men are controlled by an unseen power. Turkey
Iraqi weapons trade thrives The weapons trade in Iraq has become widespread in light of the escalation of the war against the Islamic State, and an increasing number of Iraqis possess guns for personal use. Iraq
Egyptian Health Ministry accused of using unapproved drugs Egyptian pharmacists have accused the ministry of distributing an unapproved drug to hepatitis C patients and violating drug importation, registration and trade regulations. Egypt
PA spokesman: 'Israel has an Islamic State-like government' In an interview with Al-Monitor, Adnan al-Damiri, the Palestinian Authority security services' spokesman, reacts to the Israeli decision revoking his VIP border pass. Palestine
Israeli MK: Israel must reaffirm sovereignty over Jerusalem In an interview with Al-Monitor, Knesset member Orit Strock blames the government for not clarifying long ago its stance concerning control of the Temple Mount, saying that this indecisiveness permitted the attack on rightist activist Rabbi Yehuda Glick. Palestine
Palestinian widows lose rights Widows in the Gaza Strip, whose numbers keep rising due to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, are losing their rights because of their husbands’ families and their own lack of legal knowledge. Palestine
Closures become norm for Rafah crossing The closing of the Rafah crossing by Egypt following the terrorist attack in Sinai will worsen the humanitarian situation of Gaza residents, for whom the crossing is a lifeline to the outside world. Palestine
Lebanon's Druze fear IS, Hezbollah The Druze in Lebanon are preparing to defend themselves against a possible attack by the Islamic State, in light of their shaky trust in Hezbollah. Lebanon
Is Syrian army heading for victory in Aleppo? Following battles between Jabhat al-Nusra and the Syrian regime forces, the latter took control of Murak, which might open the road to Aleppo. Syria
Some Iran officials point to conspiracy behind acid attacks While Iranian authorities have condemned the acid attacks, some believe that there is a larger conspiracy to connect the acid attacks to parliament's proposed law offering protection to "vice" groups. Iran
European women convert, join IS European women have been converting to Islam and joining the Islamic State's ranks in Syria, after watching and hearing stories about jihad on social media platforms. Syria
