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
Danny Ayalon Pivots On a Palestinian State Shlomi Eldar wonders why former Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon suddenly supports a Palestinian state. Palestine
Fatwas Allow Artificial Insemination For Wives of Palestinian Prisoners The Razan Infertility Center in Nablus recently announced that the wives of four Palestinian prisoners have become pregnant via artificial insemination using smuggled sperm, reports Naela Khalil. Palestine
New Book Says Israeli Census 'Denationalizes' Palestinians Dalia Hatuqa reviews a new book, Unfree in Palestine, which discusses how Israel deploys the census to disenfranchise Palestinians. Palestine
Israeli Poet Longs for Iraq He Never Knew Ronny Someck, an Israeli poet born in Baghdad, responds in an interview with Jacky Hugi to the call by Sheikh Moqtada al-Sadr for Iraqi Jews to return home. Iraq
Deputy Speaker Makari: 'We Do Not See Stability in Lebanon' Speaking to Al-Monitor's Elie Hajj, Lebanon's Deputy Speaker Farid Makari explains why he believes the European Union will likely implicate Hezbollah's military wing in the murders in Bulgaria, but not classify Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. Lebanon
Visit of Lebanese Patriarch to Syria Sparks Controversy Lebanese Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai recently visited Syria, in a move that sparked controversy among Lebanon's already divided political circles, writes Elie Hajj. Lebanon
Hezbollah Goes on Defense In Response to Bulgaria Bombing After a period of apparent indifference on Hezbollah's part regarding recent accusations that it was behind last summer’s Burgas bombing, Nasser Chararah argues that the party will soon adopt a strategy of defense. Lebanon
Terror Attack in Algeria Thwarted, But More May Come After the assassination of a Tunisian opposition figure, and a recently thwarted attack near its border with Tunisia, terror attacks are more likely in Algeria, writes Kaci Racelma. Algeria
Hezbollah Prepares to Make Its Case On Bulgaria Indictment Hezbollah will respond on Feb. 16 to Bulgarian accusations that the group is responsible for the Burgas bombing in July, writes Jean Aziz. Lebanon
Iraqi Kurdistan Takes Steps To Improve Road Safety Traffic accidents remain a major problem in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, as the government takes a number of steps to address the issue and improve car safety, writes Abdel Hamid Zebari. Iraq
Chill in US-Turkey Ties Will Pass Semih Idiz analyzes the latest exchanges between the US and Turkey and sees no lasting damage to bilateral ties. Turkey
Anbar Protests Continue Amid Rumors of Foreign Support As anti-government protests continue in Iraq, questions have arisen over the funding of demonstrations, with some accusing protesters of receiving foreign money, writes Omar al-Shaher. Iraq
