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
Turkey May Find Itself With 'AKP Constitution' Mustafa Akyol assesses the politics of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's initiative for a new constitution. Turkey
Erdogan Serious About Turkey's Bid For Shanghai 5 Membership Kadri Gürsel writes that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is serious about his bid to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Turkey
Will Egypt Reach a Consensus? Nervana Mahmoud writes that Egypt needs to achieve a so-far elusive consensus to avoid collapse. Egypt
Erdogan Boxed In by Syria Prime Minister Erdogan finds himself boxed in by his Syria policy, both in domestic politics and in dealing with a growing regional and humanitarian crisis, writes Tulin Daloglu. Turkey
Assad’s Final Days More Hope than Reality Ali Hashem writes that perceptions of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s final days are giving way to the reality that he may not be leaving soon. Syria
Islamists in Syria Empowering PKK The Islamization of the Syrian opposition is giving the PKK and its local affiliate, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), a new source of strength and local support, writes Denise Natali. Syria
Relocation Plan Threatens Israel's Bedouin Community Israel has announced a relocation plan for its Bedouin community which may displace thousands, writes Jillian Kestler-D'Amours. Israel
Violence in Tunisia Increases As Ennahda Stands By Islamist extremists in Tunisia are increasingly resorting to violence to implement their ideology, while the Ennahda government is accused of fence-sitting, writes Kaci Racelma. Tunisia
Iraq in Crisis Over Terror Death-Penalty Law There are growing calls in Iraq among the Sunni opposition to annul an article in the Anti-Terrorism Law that Sunnis say discriminates against them, reports Ali Abel Sadah. Iraq
Iran, Israel and Their Red Lines Over Syria Meir Javedanfar writes that a transfer of Syria’s chemical-weapon stockpiles to Iran may be a better option that the weapons falling into the hands of groups linked to al-Qaeda. Israel
Time to Stop the Bleeding in Syria Clovis Maksoud comments on the need for international support to end the conflict in Syria. Lebanon
Gaza Hospital Performs Strip's First Transplant Al-Shifa hospital in the Gaza Strip has performed the territory's first-ever transplant, courtesy of international assistance, Rami Almeghari reports. Palestine
