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
Liberman looks to expands Israel-Africa ties Israel has a pending request to join the African Union as a non-African observer member. Israel
Israeli settler campaign mocks Kerry In an interview with Al-Monitor, OneVoice CEO Laura Talinovsky condemns the defamation campaign led by the My Israel group against US Secretary of State John Kerry. Palestine
Saudi strategy includes alliance with Pakistan Saudi Arabia considers Pakistan a pivotal ally, both to contain Iran and to further Riyadh’s leadership bid in the Arab world. Saudi Arabia
African refugees teach Israeli society lesson in civics After years of ignoring the fate of African asylum seekers, the human dilemma has risen to the top of Israel's public discourse, forcing the authorities to confront it. Israel
Lebanon's age of extremism Is the center of gravity in the Syria war expanding from Damascus to Beirut? Lebanon
Iraq’s future uncertain as Anbar escalates Recent clashes in Anbar have made Iraq's future even more uncertain. Iraq
Egypt: What to expect in 2014 Al-Monitor presents an in-depth look ahead at the key political dynamics and events likely to define Egypt in the coming year. Egypt
Hamas ready for security cooperation with Egypt In response to the latest Egyptian accusations against Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement has called for security cooperation to end the rift. Palestine
Iraq: Four armed groups fighting in Fallujah The fighting in Iraq’s Anbar province is complex, with forces belonging to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), local tribes, al-Qaeda and assorted armed groups. Iraq
Geneva II must achieve peaceful solution The Syrian government, the Syrian opposition and the world must take advantage of the opportunities afforded by Geneva II to bring peace to Syria. Saudi Arabia
Lapid on peace talks: 'Our role is to back the prime minister' In an interview with Al-Monitor, Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lapid says that the main role of his party within the coalition is to make sure that the Israeli government remains committed to negotiations with the Palestinians, calling US Secretary of State John Kerry "a very fair mediator." Palestine
Lebanon faces three January deadlines January 2014 will include three significant events for Lebanon related to the formation of the new government, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and the Geneva II Syria Conference. Lebanon
