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
PA looks to France for economic help The Palestinian Authority is seeking the assistance of France to help pressure Israel into reviewing the Paris Economic Protocol that is impeding Palestine’s economic growth. Palestine
Trust needed between Arabs and Kurds to stabilize Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor A series of attacks and assassinations in Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor have heightened tensions between the Arab population and Kurds. Syria
Is Sisi vying to stay on as president? News is circulating in the media about constitutional amendments that would allow Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to remain in power for additional years or head a constitutional committee. Egypt
Price hike: A nightmare for Israel’s finance minister Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon knows that to preserve political support, he must act quickly and curb the recent rise of water, electricity and food prices. Israel
Netanyahu's stab at premier for life Ahead of Israel's next elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing a bill that would limit the task of forming a coalition to a party leader. Israel
Tunisian documentary smashes taboos with gay love story Nasreddine Shili’s hyperreal documentary takes a tender look at homosexuality, poverty and drug use in Tunis slums. Tunisia
Senate votes to end US involvement in Yemen war The Senate voted to end US support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. Saudi Arabia
On Iran, US allies fear ‘maximum pressure’ could provoke escalation While Iran continues to comply for now with the 2015 nuclear deal even after the reimposition of US sanctions, European allies fear that the US administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign could eventually lead to war. United States
Erdogan says Turkish troops to march into northeast Syria Some experts think Erdogan's threat to send troops into northeast Syria is a trial balloon that has more to do with Turkey's March 31 local elections than anything else, but others take his statements more seriously. Syria
Six factors shaping Iran’s missile decision-making calculus It would be folly to expect that Iran would dismantle the backbone of its defense doctrine without bearing in mind its security concerns, including the need for a broader regional arrangement to ban weapons of mass destruction. Iran
Deadlock continues over fate of Iran's Green Movement leaders The three Iranian opposition leaders detained during the 2009 election protests are still languishing under house arrest as Reformists and hard-liners argue endlessly. Iran
Yellow Vest protests cause satisfaction and resentment in Turkey Protests in Paris have ignited fears of copycat demonstrations against President Erdogan in Turkey. Turkey
