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
Tamarod Comes to Palestine Hamas and Fatah are exchanging accusations over Egypt, while a Tamarod social media movement gathers steam in Palestine. Palestine
Syrian War Keeps University Students at Home A report from Amuda, in northeast Syria, where students have been forced to abandon their studies due to the war. Syria
Ahmadinejad Takes Parting Shot At Iranian Women The outgoing Iranian president has proposed a bill that would limit the working hours of some women. Iran
Muslim Brotherhood Missing From Egypt’s Road Map Egypt’s liberals might miss the Brotherhood as the Salafist Nour Party has taken a key role in the transition. Egypt
Yemen’s National Dialogue Paralyzes Government While intended to keep an eye on the progress of Yemen’s democratic transition, the National Dialogue Conference seems to have stalled the general operation of the country. Yemen
Turkey Has Role to Play in Egypt Turkey could be well-positioned to assist Egypt’s democratic transition, if it can shift its role from partisan to mediator. Egypt
Baghdad Delays New Iraqi Customs Law As disagreements persist with Erbil, Baghdad has requested that an unimplemented customs tariff law be postponed in what some see as a bid to buy time for tensions to cool. Iraq
US Should Strive for Clarity in Egypt The Obama administration might revisit US President Harry Truman’s approach to the Egyptian crisis of 1952. Egypt
Turkish-Kurdish Peace Process Poorly Managed Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan needs to address the trauma resulting from the fight against PKK terror for over three decades. Iraq
Levin Says US Should Consider Limited Military Strikes on Syria Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Carl Levin says only increased US support for vetted rebel groups can level the Syrian playing field and allow for a political settlement. Syria
Iraqi Parliament Puts Controversial Media Law on Hold Due to controversial wording in its draft and a general outcry from the country’s media community, Iraq has not passed its Communications and Media Commission law. Iraq
Erdogan Needs Israel to Recast Faltering Mideast Policy Having lost his allies in Egypt and Syria, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s route to maintaining his role in the Middle East passes through Israel. Israel
