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
Cease-fire agreement sends tremors through Israeli Knesset While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cease-fire agreement with Gaza led Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman to submit his resignation, it also led the opposition to call for early elections. Palestine
Will Netanyahu’s coalition collapse? Facing the danger of a negative vote, the narrow coalition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was forced to withdraw two bills that were set to be approved this week. Israel
Syria has high hopes for ties with Crimea — maybe too high? Damascus expects to take part in Crimea’s Yalta International Economic Forum next year, aiming to boost trade and economic relations. Syria
Netanyahu's security has little to do with peace Instead of focusing on a lasting peace with Gaza and the best way to achieve it, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has built his security policies on existential threats. Palestine
Congress amps up pressure to free Americans jailed in Egypt House lawmakers are demanding that the Donald Trump administration to take a firmer stance on Cairo’s human rights record. Egypt
Can observation posts calm Turkish-Kurdish tensions on Syria border? Observation posts will soon dot the Syrian-Turkish border to calm the tension between the US-allied People's Protection Units and Turkish forces. Syria
Turks cannot pay back lavish consumer debts While interest rates increase in Turkey, the country's laborers, white collar workers and retirees struggle to pay back debts or obtain new loans. Turkey
The political messages of Turkey’s 2019 budget bill Ankara’s 2019 budget bill has fueled opposition fears that the country’s rulers are bent on building an authoritarian regime that leans on Sunni Islam. Turkey
US floats idea of division in Yemen, Houthis torpedo plan US Defense Secretary James Mattis has proposed division and self-rule areas in Yemen to end the bloody civil war, but Houthis categorically reject the proposal. Yemen
Iran’s foreign minister criticized for saying ‘we’ll survive’ sanctions An attempt by the Iranian government to create a viral meme declaring the country will “survive” sanctions backfired across the political spectrum. Iran
How Iran’s institutional politics is about to become more complex A relatively unknown subdivision of Iran’s Expediency Council is causing a stir in national politics as it appears to be girding to directly enter the legislative process. Iran
