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
Can Obama Protect Israel from Itself? Ben Caspit calls on President Obama to set the boundaries for Israel. Israel
Syrian Crisis Threatens To Draw in Lebanon Lebanon is especially worried that the Syrian crisis could spread, writes Jean Aziz. Lebanon
Would Obama Ever Tell Netanyahu 'You’re on Your Own'? Akiva Eldar wonders what would happen if President Barack Obama ever told Prime MInister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel was on its own. Israel
Palestinian Activists Bemoan Their Lost Arab Spring Asmaa al-Ghoul speaks to Palestinian activists who hoped, and failed, to launch their own version of the Arab Spring. Palestine
Ocalan a No-Show at Funeral For PKK Activists The funeral of the three murdered PKK activists in Diyarbakir proceeded without incident, and without posters of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, writes Kadri Gursel. Turkey
Syria’s Reconciliation Minister: Turkish Role in Syria 'Very Bad' In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor from his office in Damascus, Ali Haidar, Syria's minister of national reconciliation, said that President Assad’s Jan. 6 speech constitutes "a step forward toward solving the crisis” and that Turkey's “role is based upon a sectarian position, and they are supporting some of the Syrian people at the expense of others.” Syria
Maliki Makes Concessions on De-Baathification In what might be a bid to appease Sunni demonstrators, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has eased enforcement of de-Baathication laws, writes Ali Abel Sadah. Iraq
Rabbi Amsalem Offers Alternative For Israeli Voters Rabbi MK Haim Amsalem, one of the real surprises of the Israeli elections, explains to interviewer Mazal Mualem why he rebelled against his mother party, Shas, and called on rabbinical college students to enlist in the army. Israel
Kurdish Issue Key To Erdogan’s Success Resolving the Kurdish issue is critical for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to re-establish Turkey’s role in the region, writes Tulin Daloglu. Turkey
US Fails to Use Leverage With Israel Daoud Kuttab laments that the US no longer seems able to influence Israeli politics, despite the aid and assistance it provides. Palestine
Ultra-Orthodox Parties Not in Netanyahu’s Pocket Politicians from the ultra-Orthodox Shas and Kadima center parties might be joining forces to create a bloc against Prime MInister Benjamin Netanyahu in advance of the elections next week, writes Akiva Eldar. Israel
Will Israel Miss Ahmadinejad? Nadav Eyal discusses whether Israel will benefit from a new Iranian president, who is likely to be just as committed to Iran's nuclear program and perhaps an even more formidable adversary. Israel
