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
The Coming Political Crisis in Turkey Cengiz Çandar foresees a political crisis in this year as Prime Minister Recep Erdogan's ruling AKP party pushes a draft constitution that would dramatically expand his powers. Turkey
Teachers Protest Hiring Bias by PA A group of Palestinian teachers are protesting the Palestinian Authority's policy of imposing a political litmus test when hiring public school teachers, Linah Alsaafin reports from the West Bank. Palestine
More Uncertainty on Turkey’s Eastern Flank in 2013 Turkey can expect more problems in dealing with both Iraq and Syria in 2013, writes Semih Idiz. Syria
Iran-Turkey Rivalry Worsens Over Patriot Deployment Kadri Gursel writes that Iran's fury at NATO's deployment of Patriot missiles to Turkey is also related to Anakara and Tehran's competing interests in Syria. Turkey
Does Turkey Benefit From Cold War With Israel? Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan believes that Turkey may benefit from a cold war with Israel, writes Kadri Gursel. Turkey
Watch Turkey's Youth in 2013 Tulin Daloglu writes that Turkey's youth is becoming increasingly politicized in opposition to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's policies. Turkey
'The Gatekeepers' Unmasks Israeli Security Apparatus In the documentary "The Gatekeepers," six former heads of the Shin Bet reveal who is in charge of keeping Israel's security gates, giving viewers a rude awakening, writes Shlomi Eldar. Israel
Turkey Claims Iran Providing Logistical Support for PKK Relations between Iran and Turkey are likely to deteriorate in 2013, including over the PKK and the Patriot missile deployment, writes Cengiz Çandar. Turkey
No Reason for Attacks on Hagel Ben Caspit writes that the attacks on Chuck Hagel are not serving Israel or US-Israel relations. Israel
The Fiscal Cliff, Israel-Style Israel is facing its own fiscal cliff, which will mean higher taxes, writes Idan Grinbaum. Israel
Israeli Politicians Compete for 'Right-Wing' Etiquette The upcoming Israeli elections are dominated by a strong ''turning to the right'' phenomenon, which sweeps not only the center-right wing, but even the Left Israeli Labor party, writes Mazal Mualem. Israel
NATO Patriot Missiles Show Turkey's Military Weakness Kadri Gursel writes that Turkey's request for NATO Patriot missiles reveals its lack of capacity and few other options to handle regional threats. Syria
