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
Istanbul's skyline betrayed A generation that professes to worship the Ottomans betrayed Istanbul by destroying its silhouette with high-rises. Turkey
Israel's media at war Israeli media scholars Tamar Liebes and Zohar Kampf point to a dramatic change in the coverage of conflicts in the West: from focusing on politicians and generals to coverage of human stories of enemies and victims. Palestine
Burns to Al-Monitor: 'No illusions' about nuclear diplomacy with Iran In an exclusive interview, Deputy Secretary of State William Burns discusses leading the US back channel to Iran, the upcoming Geneva II conference on Syria, the role of secret diplomacy and 32 years in the US foreign service. Saudi Arabia
Zarif trip to Lebanon includes signal to Saudi Arabia Iran and Hezbollah's abrupt change toward the formation of a Lebanese government might be part of a regional settlement. Saudi Arabia
Syrian Kurds aim to benefit from Islamist infighting Syrian Kurdish forces navigate the fighting between the Free Syrian Army and the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham to gain ground in northern Syria. Syria
Has al-Qaeda found Zarqawi's successor? The emergence of Shaker Wahib, a young, charismatic field commander in the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), may be tied to the organization’s deeper goals. Iraq
Egyptians fear return of surveillance state The release of recordings of telephone conversations among Egyptian activists has sparked a new debate over media freedom and privacy. Egypt
Liberman a firestarter with land swap proposal Arab-Israelis have constructed lives coexisting with their Jewish neighbors, only to find that some Israeli politicians would like to swap them in a future agreement with the Palestinians. Israel
Turkey's Christians fear possible hate campaign An aggressive campaign against Christmas and New Year’s festivities in Turkey last month, including the circumcision of Santa Claus, has sparked fears that deadly attacks on Christians may begin anew. Turkey
Chechnya's silent diplomacy in the Middle East Russia is working to turn domestic challenges into opportunity. Turkey
Gul calls for reset of Turkey’s Syria policy Turkish President Abdullah Gul's call for a "recalibration" of the Syria policy is a thinly veiled rebuke to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. Turkey
Israeli deputy minister: Kerry's proposals 'move us further apart' In an interview with Al-Monitor, Ofir Akunis says he agrees with Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon about US Secretary of State John Kerry's approach to the peace process, but would have said it differently. Palestine
