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
Commentary: Why the US is merging its Jerusalem consulate into embassy The United States announced that its office dealing with Palestinian affairs in Israel will merge with the US Embassy in Jerusalem, raising concerns among Palestinians. Palestine
Israel pays price for refusing peace talks On the backdrop of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's refusal to launch negotiations with the Palestinians, it is no wonder that Jordan decided not to renew Israel’s lease on lands near the border. Palestine
Israeli civil society, left-wing camp back in the game The Israeli left-wing camp and human rights organizations seem to have woken up and are ready to fight the Netanyahu government and its occupation policies. Palestine
Turkey tightens Khashoggi noose as Saudis flail Footage of another man leaving the Saudi Consulate in the missing journalist's clothes and of officials burning documents leave no doubt that his murder was pre-planned, if clumsily executed. Turkey
Iran braces for more general strikes as budget negotiations in sight The recent string of strikes in Iran appeared geared to extract more concessions ahead of budget negotiations. Iran
Khashoggi killing undercuts Trump campaign against Iran The US campaign to convince the world to cut off Iran has taken a hit two weeks before oil sanctions are set to kick in. Saudi Arabia
Iran's Supreme Court upholds death sentences for corruption Iran’s Supreme Court upheld the death sentences of two individuals charged with economic crimes in what the judiciary hopes is a “warning” to others. Iran
Turkey’s fantasy war on inflation Ankara has declared an “all-out fight against inflation,” cajoling sellers into 10% discounts and sending municipal police to hunt hoarders, and while this bizarre strategy is unlikely to bear fruit, it might be a sign of other plans that are being cooked up in Ankara. Turkey
Tunisia's foreign exchange reserves drained to new lows Since the beginning of the year, the foreign exchange reserves of Tunisia’s Central Bank have been dropping even as crucial economic sectors like tourism grow. Tunisia
Trump policies fire up evangelicals but divide Middle East Christians The US president is highlighting Middle East policies championed by American Christians as he seeks to energize his evangelical base ahead of next month’s elections. Egypt
US warns Lebanon that Hezbollah Cabinet pick would cross ‘red line’ The Trump administration might take limited measures that are not likely to alter the fundamentals of US policy in Lebanon should Hezbollah get the Health Ministry in the new Cabinet formation. Lebanon
