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 cease-fire boosts Hamas-Egypt ties Hamas is pushing to improve its relations with Egypt after the Gaza war, accepting the new status quo with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo. Palestine
As US economy recovers, Turkey's falters As US economic indicators improve, emerging economies like Turkey's are increasingly concerned over the prospect of US rate hikes. Turkey
Kerry's three Israel-Palestinian options The Obama administration objects to the Palestinian plan of turning to the UN for recognizing Palestine, thus hesitating between two options: a new outline based on former negotiations or a series of gestures and negotiations without a deadline. Palestine
Turkey uses defense industry as political instrument The Turkish government uses the defense industry to build its foreign relationships and to improve domestic standing. Turkey
Turkey to train Syrian rebels, but at what cost? As talks continue for the use of Turkish bases in airstrikes against the Islamic State, Ankara agrees to train Syrian rebels in a move that increases the risk of Turkey’s Pakistanization. Syria
Turkey opens first case against oil smuggling with Syria A court started to hear the first legal case of oil smuggling, revealing the dilemma between national security and the fight against radical Islamists. Syria
Has Israel accepted the Palestinian unity government? Israel has allowed trucks with goods to enter Gaza, thus cooperating with the same Fatah-Hamas government it refused to recognize four months ago. Palestine
Assad dismisses security chief of powerful 'Branch 40' The dismissal of Col. Hafez Makhlouf, head of Syria's internal security, may be a sign of reformist policies or even a change of leadership within the regime. Lebanon
Egypt ministers criticized for cutting short their hajj Egyptian Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb and Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim cut short their pilgrimage to Mecca, leaving required rituals unfulfilled. Egypt
Is Anbar Islamic State's Achilles' heel? The Islamic State’s control of Anbar province and the city of Fallujah is key to their survival, and if lost the group's demise would follow. Iraq
Israeli social justice protests still alive, just not in streets In an interview with Al-Monitor, social activist Itzik Alrov argues that even though people don't take to the streets to protest, as they did in the summer of 2011, they keep watch on the distortions of price centralization and expect the government to intervene. Israel
Syrian regime takes advantage of coalition strikes While the world focuses on the Islamic State, the Syrian army is making significant gains in Damascus and Aleppo. Syria
