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
Ankara pins electoral hopes on ignoring economic realities The Turkish government’s vacillations and zigzagging in the face of the country’s economic woes reflect how squeezed it has become economically and politically and how concerned it is about it with elections scheduled for March. Turkey
Iranian media see Saudi-Turkey rift in Khashoggi case While some Iranian media see the possibility of tension between Iran and Turkey over the case of Jamal Khashoggi, one analyst in particular warns that such an atmosphere is not conducive to resolving differences. Saudi Arabia
Jerusalem mayor challenges status of Palestinian refugees Palestinians are questioning the motivation behind the Jerusalem mayor's recent comments that there are no refugees living in the city. Palestine
How Gaza brings Israel, Qatar closer Israel considers Qatari financial aid to Gaza a lifeline with the potential to prevent or at least postpone another war in the south. Qatar
Netanyahu generates Iran-phobia, to continue occupation By focusing and promoting the Iran-phobia, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hopes to conceal from the world the status-quo policy he espouses against the Palestinians. Palestine
Congress orders federal probe into Khashoggi’s disappearance Bipartisan calls for a federal probe and possible sanctions against Saudi Arabia indicate that Congress has lost confidence in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia
Jerusalem artist explores city's evolution by combining archival, new photos Photographer Jack Persekian combines photos taken in the late 19th century with his own careful shots of the same places to tell the story of the city's tumultuous history. Palestine
Iran maneuvers to win back public trust in the rial While the Iranian rial has jumped 25% over the past week, there are major questions about whether the Central Bank of Iran will be able to sustain the upward momentum. Iran
Iran media: Haley resigned after failing Trump at UN Security Council Iranian media has largely welcomed the surprise resignation of the US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, and her departure from the administration of President Donald Trump. Iran
Students at Qom seminary are leaving for Najaf Due to political intervention and lack of freedom in the religious seminary, hundreds of Shiite clerics are migrating from Qom seminary to Najaf seminary for its traditional activities. Iran
Turkish FM heads for Iraq to greet new leadership, discuss oil Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu is set for a two-day visit to Iraq widely taken as an effort to re-assert Turkey’s heft in the country amid the receding fortunes of its local Sunni Arab allies. Iraq
