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
Knesset member tries to shut out Arab-Israeli soccer club Knesset member Miri Regev has called for suspending the Arab-Israeli Bnei Sakhnin soccer club from the Israeli league over the raising of Palestinian flags during a match, ignoring racist actions by Jewish rival fans. Israel
Netanyahu looks to leverage Snowden scandal to secure Pollard's release Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has two cards to play when lobbying for Jonathan Pollard's release: the US espionage scandal and the expected third phase of the Palestinian prisoner release. Israel
African asylum seekers in Israel march on Jerusalem to protest conditions In defiance of the High Court of Justice, Israel is detaining hundreds of people while claiming they are free. Israel
Haifa University rejects honorary doctorate for right-wing Nobel laureate Haifa University decided against granting an honorary doctorate to Nobel laureate Yisrael Aumann. Israel
The true face of Israeli poverty Reports published lately indicate a growing number of families that are under the poverty line, while experts warn of an even worse report next year, unless drastic measures are taken. Israel
Turkey bans media from Security Directorate buildings The Interior Ministry decided to ban journalists from entering police premises across the nation at the height of the corruption and bribery scandal. Turkey
Boycott threat should be a wake-up call to Israelis While settlers are creating an almost irreversible reality in the occupied territories, even those opposing the idea of an international boycott on Israel might change their minds. Palestine
Egypt's Coptic churches on alert during Christmas holidays Egyptian security is taking several measures to protect Coptic churches during the holiday season, especially since it coincides with former President Mohammed Morsi's trial on Jan. 8. Egypt
Europe threatens to put pressure on settlements with product labeling EU Ambassador to Israel Lars Faaborg-Andersen warns that Europe will show zero tolerance for settlement activity, increasing political pressure on member countries for labeling products from the settlements. Palestine
Egypt turns to business, civil society in Nile water dispute The Egyptian government has reached out to civil society and the private sector to extend its influence in Ethiopia and other Nile Basin countries. Egypt
An appeal to Lakhdar Brahimi A cease-fire and the immediate holding of Geneva II must be at the top of Special Envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi and the UN's agenda. Lebanon
Iranian Kurds disappointed with Rouhani Some Reformist Kurds in Iran had hoped to have a Kurdish representative as governor for their region. Iran
