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
Equal inheritance still struggle in Morocco While Tunisia gears up to become the first country in North Africa to achieve inheritance equality between men and women, the issue still stirs a nationwide controversy in Morocco. Morocco
Syrian writer gives voice to victims of war Betul Abras, who has fled from the Syrian war herself in 2013, has been helping other victims of war to heal for the last five and a half years. Syria
Netanyahu’s government increases tensions in West Bank Instead of trying to calm tensions, the Netanyahu government advances bills encouraging the settlement enterprise and deepening the occupation. Palestine
Hezbollah's tunnels distract Israel from real dangers Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's focus on Hezbollah and its tunnels in the north is enabling Iran and Hamas to increase their grip on Gaza and inch closer to the West Bank. Palestine
How does Turkey's threatened Syria invasion play elsewhere? As Turkey prepares for a possible offensive against Kurdish militias in Syria, Moscow is watching for any mistakes that multiple players, including the Unites States and the United Arab Emirates, might make in their efforts to deter the operation. Syria
Trump’s pick for top general could expand Mideast advising role The Pentagon’s incoming Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman has a long track record of training foreign military forces. Syria
Sinjar road reconnects estranged Yazidis and Kurds with Baghdad The opening of a strategic road in Iraq's Kurdistan Region — closed since the Kurds' ill-fated independence referendum in September 2017 — could be a prelude to a reset in ties between Erbil and Baghdad. Iraq
Flynn business partner, client charged as secret foreign agents for Turkey A US court indicted two associates of President Donald Trump’s first national security adviser amid an investigation into Ankara's secret campaign to obtain the extradition of cleric Fetullah Gulen. Turkey
Iran's energized conservatives move to unite ahead of upcoming polls Reinvigorated by the Trump administration’s harsh rhetoric against the Rouhani administration, divided Iranian conservatives appear to be coalescing around a new grouping. Iran
Turkey's defense industry still striving for self-sufficiency Turkey has made significant strides in developing its defense industry during the past four years, but it is still being held back by its dependence on other countries' goods and technologies. Qatar
Erdogan says Trump responded 'positively' to Turkey’s threats on Syria According to Ankara, the US president expressed support both for its stance against US-allied Kurdish militants in Syria and its efforts to extradite Fethullah Gulen as its chief suspect in the 2016 Turkish coup attempt. Syria
