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
Israel, Turkey exchange diplomatic cold shoulders The absence of an Israeli representative at Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's inauguration points to the frosty relationship between the two countries. Israel
Bibi uses Gaza as wedge between Abbas, Hamas Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will accept Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' entry into Gaza, but only if the unity government is dissolved. Palestine
Shas Party spirals downward with Deri at helm Almost one year into the term of Aryeh Deri, it looks as if there is no way to stop the party’s gradual disintegration. Israel
Iran cleric explains he's not opposed to 'filtered' 3G phones Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi has clarified his position on mobile Internet access after his ruling that 3g phones were un-Islamic made international news. Iran
Iran helps Iraq's Kurds but Baghdad still priority Iran has provided the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq with arms to fight the Islamic State but is wary of alienating Baghdad. Iraq
Market pressure keeps Babacan in new Turkish Cabinet Turkey’s much-respected economy chief, Ali Babacan, retains his post in Turkey’s new Cabinet despite in-house tensions, in a sign that the ruling party cannot afford unnerving international investors. Turkey
US gives new priority to foreign fighters in Syria US regional allies, including Turkey, may finally be forced to crack down on extremists in Syria. Israel
Ethiopia excludes three dams from Khartoum talks with Egypt A series of important files related to three planned dams were excluded from the meeting, as well as some files related to the Renaissance Dam. Egypt
Iraq's Sunni, Shiite Turkmens fall out over IS The six-week Islamic State siege of the Shiite Turkmen town of Amerli has exposed the little-discussed rift between Iraqi Shiites and Sunni Turkmens. Iraq
Good news from Davutoglu: a rational economy Is the new AKP government abandoning anti-Western and anti-liberal economic tendencies? Turkey
Lebanon's main prison a hotbed for terrorists Roumieh Prison holds a variety of detainees, including terrorists and radical Islamists who pose a challenge to security in the lockup and in the country. Lebanon
Bennett emerges from Gaza conflict as clear winner While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's stock has fallen and Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman did not upgrade his position, Economy and Trade Minister Naftali Bennett was able to strengthen his support base. Iraq
