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
Iran still digging out of Ahmadinejad-era corruption In Iran, the business and legal climate generated by sanctions led to shady business deals and opaque transactions. Iran
New Syrian Kurdish media find their voices Syrian Kurds have their own newspapers and radio stations, but are beset by familiar political challenges. Iraq
Netanyahu: Israel's master politician Opponents of the prime minister admit that contrary to his image of being inclined to panic, he has survived serious coalition conflicts and has a chance to achieve something with his leadership. Palestine
Yemeni national dialogue needs jump-start Innovation and fresh thinking are required to pull Yemen out of its current national impasse. Yemen
Pro-AKP media accuses Israel of role in Turkish corruption scandal Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to break the "dirty alliance" at the core of the crackdown. Israel
Iranian gold stars in Turkish corruption scandal The CEO of Halkbank, which has been under scrutiny for bypassing US-EU sanctions on Iran, is at the center of bribery and corruption upheaval rattling Turkey. Turkey
Abbas to visit Gaza? To assert his leadership of all Palestinians, Mahmoud Abbas should visit the Gaza Strip and show his support for Palestinians there. Palestine
Palestinian factions race to post snowstorm work on Facebook Hamas, Fatah and Islamic Jihad took to social media to document their own aid efforts following the region’s winter storm. Palestine
The Israeli right's hypocrisy on Jerusalem Despite past promises by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to former coalition partners, the issue of Jerusalem is on the discussion table with the Palestinians. Israel
Pro-AKP media flop as corruption charges swell The pro-AKP media fail to carry a credible message to combat corruption charges. Turkey
Crackdown shatters AKP 'anti-corruption' taboo Anti-corruption operations targeting four ministers of Erdogan's AKP government have inflicted irreparable damage on the government's reputation and legitimacy. Turkey
Academic boycott of Israel creates snowball effect Israeli academics fear that the recent decision by the American Studies Association to join the boycott against Israel is another step in a trend that cannot be stopped. Israel
