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
Hard-liner accuses Rouhani of blocking Telegram A hard-line politician in Iran has accused President Hassan Rouhani of ordering the ban on a popular social media app in the wake of the nationwide protests in early 2018. Iran
Do Iraqis consider George Bush a liberator or oppressor? Iraqis have different opinions about the late President George Bush, as some praise him for attacking the dictator Saddam Hussein, and some slam him for the devastating sanctions he imposed on Iraq. Kuwait
Fatah slams Iran for funding Gaza Strip while skirting PA Relations between the Palestinian Authority and Iran have taken another bad turn, with a top Fatah official accusing Iran of worsening the Palestinian division by financially “adopting” families of Gazans killed or wounded in the Great Return protests. Palestine
Iraqi Kurdistan bans pro-PKK party amid Turkish pressure Turkey exerted its political and economic pressure on Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government to close the headquarters of political parties that share the ideology of the Kurdistan Workers Party. Iraq
Egyptian authorities go after futsal fields The Egyptian government decided to remove all futsal fields squatting agricultural lands, which raised the ire of the youths whose main outlet is sports. Egypt
Netanyahu against anti-porn bill, rejects online regulation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, fearing the very concept of regulating internet use, objects to proposed legislation that would limit and block visits to pornography sites on the internet. Israel
Italy names five Egyptian officials as suspects in student's murder An Italian prosecutor is investigating five Egyptian police officials concerning the murder of Italian student Giulio Regeni while Egypt's own investigation drags on. Egypt
Will Iran ask Hamas to ignite Gaza front in support of Hezbollah? The recent Israeli operation to expose Hezbollah’s tunnels on the Lebanese border raised questions about Iran-backed Hamas’ exposure should Tehran request it to open a second front against Israel in the event of an Israeli-Hezbollah confrontation. Palestine
Jordan moves to improve lives of Gazan refugees The Jordanian government issued a decision recently to allow Gazan refugees to buy and own property and vehicles, which was not welcomed by some who see this as a move aimed to permanently settle refugees in the kingdom. Jordan
Iran, Russia-led bloc move toward free trade The Iranian government is widening channels of trade with Eurasia and India in an effort to dodge the impacts of reimposed US sanctions. Russia
Tunisia's Ennahda party faces more assassination allegations Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi is threatening to sue the Ennahda political party, which was recently accused of planning in 2013 to assassinate him and the French president. Tunisia
Storm in Haifa over Israeli-Arab council member The newly elected mayor of Haifa, Einat Kalisch-Rotem, refused to back down from the coalition agreement she signed with the Israeli-Arab Communist Party. Palestine
