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
Will EU’s ‘SPV’ be able to sustain Iran trade, investment? While a welcomed step, the SPV mechanism that Iran and the EU are working on is only the starting point of a process that needs to be further consolidated in order to enable trade and investment between the two sides. United States
Intel: Why the Trump administration suddenly cares about Iran’s poor environmental record United States
Hamas, Fatah exchange arrests before Abbas' UN speech Hamas and Fatah engaged in reciprocal arrest campaigns of each other's supporters in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, though the Palestinian Authority denies its arrests were political in nature. Palestine
Sufism enters Egypt's political arena A Sufi sheikh has been elected to lead the majority Support Egypt Coalition in the Egyptian parliament, leading some to wonder if it signals the rise of another religious current in the wake of the Muslim Brotherhood's fall. Egypt
Violence abates during tentative truce in Tripoli After violent clashes rocked Tripoli, Libyan officials are calling on the United Nations to assume a military role to mediate between rival militias. North Africa
Why do Palestinians opt for Israeli SIM cards? Due to the poor quality of Palestinian cellular companies that are crippled by Israeli restrictions, Palestinians in the West Bank are opting for Israeli SIM cards provided by illegal Israeli mobile network operators. Palestine
“Made in Jordan”: Are consumers buying it? The “Made in Jordan” campaign has been trying to instill a sense of pride in locally produced goods with the long-term goals of boosting industry and decreasing unemployment. Jordan
Congressional fight against human shields stops at UN Despite bipartisan agreement on sanctioning Hamas and Hezbollah for their use of human shields, not all lawmakers are willing to take the battle to the UN. Palestine
Iraq offers to mediate between Trump, Iran Optimistic about its new government but concerned that brewing tensions between the United States and Iran could negatively impact Iraq, a senior Iraqi diplomat offered that Iraq could mediate between the nations. Iraq
Fate of missing Saudi journalist puts Turkey in ironic position As mystery remains over the fate of a missing dissident Saudi journalist, Ankara finds itself in a position in which it may try to rescue a foreign journalist at a time when more than 100 journalists are behind bars in Turkey. Saudi Arabia
Intel: What Iraq is doing to avoid being caught in tug of war between US and Iran The Iraqi embassy in Washington is working overtime to avoid getting caught up in the feud between the United States and Iran. Iraq
