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
Palestinian Authority warns Israel of strengthening Hamas Senior Ramallah Palestinians warn Israel that its efforts to weaken President Mahmoud Abbas would end up with Hamas taking over the West Bank and Palestinian leadership. Palestine
US Syria pullout may be more than Turkey asked for The haste with which President Donald Trump appears to be dumping the Americans’ Syrian Kurdish allies is not necessarily what Turkey’s president had hoped for and will likely pose new problems for Ankara. Originals
Is Erdogan’s brinkmanship forcing Washington to climb down? Ankara is pleased with Trump’s decision to pull out of Syria, but it greets this decision with a mixture of caution and skepticism. Syria
How real are Erdogan’s ‘second Gezi’ worries? Turkey’s president and his far-right ally have come to issue harsh warnings against opposition protests, but in the absence of any sign that such protests could erupt, their real aim appears to be to nourish polarization. Turkey
How insecurity in Iran's southeast could benefit UAE, Pakistan Regional rivalry over maritime trade has intensified speculations in Iran about possible Emirati-Pakistani involvement in the recent terror attack in the southeastern port of Chabahar. Iran
Iranian analysts welcome US withdrawal from Syria Iran's government has not officially reacted to Trump's announcement of a US withdrawal from Syria, but Iranian analysts have welcomed the news. Syria
Iraqi artist preserves Iraqi heritage in 3D exhibition An Iraqi engineer leads his own mission to preserve Iraq's heritage in 3D reconstructions. Iraq
Will kafala system come to an end in Gulf countries soon? Egyptian expats expressed hope after Egypt and Kuwait signed a memorandum of understanding to regulate the status and sponsorship of workers, which paves the way for the elimination of the controversial kafala system. Kuwait
Netanyahu’s government full steam ahead with undemocratic legislation Israeli security and judicial systems both object to measures against Palestinian civilians, yet the Netanyahu government keeps advancing undemocratic legislation. Palestine
Israeli settlements threaten to engulf West Bank communities Israel announced a project to build a water pipeline connecting two settlements in southern Nablus, which raises Palestinians' fears that a larger plan is in the works to divide the West Bank. Palestine
