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
Are Israel, Hamas en route to war or an agreement? Hamas' leadership seems unaware of or simply does not care that its actions to defend what it views as the honor of the movement threaten a pending cease-fire deal with Israel and make a full-blown humanitarian crisis in Gaza more likely. Palestine
Palestinian police patrol Hebron in rare sight for locals Israel recently allowed Palestinian security forces to deploy in Hebron's old town in a show of control and cooperation, but it has not committed to any ongoing coordination for future patrols. Palestine
Medieval Turkish village reinvents itself as tech hub In the mid-15th century, Sultan Mehmet II strategically dispatched 300 soldiers across the coast from Lesbos; today, the old Janissary village bids for technological, rather than military, power. Turkey
Syrian women face heat, harassment while picking Jordan's crops Many women who fled the war in Syria have found themselves working to survive with their entire families in Jordan's fields. Syria
Firing of Palestinian prisoner affairs minister sparks anger In an interview with Al-Monitor, Issa Qaraqe, former minister of prisoner affairs, discussed his dismissal and replacement as various Palestinian factions condemned the move by President Mahmoud Abbas given Qaraqe's widely respected efforts on behalf of prisoners. Palestine
Home for a day: Palestinian diaspora reconnects with motherland A project run by Ziad Bakri in Palestine aims to reconnect Palestinians in the diaspora with their family's history by visiting the homes their relatives left in 1948. Palestine
Cairo, Rome carefully repair relations two years after researcher's murder The Italian foreign minister’s recent visit to Egypt revived diplomatic relations between Cairo and Rome following the long, heated dispute over the slaying of Italian postgraduate student Giulio Regeni. Egypt
Azaz conference explores boosting role of Syrian women Women in the opposition-controlled areas in northern Syria are taking action to claim wider social, economic and political roles in the opposition-held areas. Syria
Freeing Green Movement leaders is losing value as trump card for Tehran While the Iranian political establishment could once have energized the disheartened public via the release of the detained Green Movement leaders, such a step is no longer likely to have the same impact it once would have had. Iran
Turkey’s economic headache bigger than Brunson standoff, US problems Although Turkey’s dispute with the US administration over American pastor Andrew Brunson has worsened the country’s foreign currency position, the US-Turkish row is not why the lira is melting down. Turkey
Watchdog: Islamic State fighter numbers increase in Syria A top Pentagon watchdog says between 4,000-6,000 Islamic State fighters remain in northeast Syria, far higher than the number cited by the Defense Department. Syria
Genocide still haunts Iraq's Yazidis Four years after the genocide against them, Yazidis mark its anniversary without a noticeable improvement in their situation. Iraq
