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
Iraqi election results leave Iran scrambling to preserve influence Iran is pushing its allies in Iraq, particularly the State of Law Coalition and the Fatah coalition, to form the largest bloc in the parliament in order to prevent Muqtada al-Sadr from leading the formation of the new government, which would affect Tehran's influence in the country. Iraq
Syrian family finds shelter, job in Mardin church In the multicultural city of Mardin, a Syrian refugee made her life taking care of a church. Turkey
Turkish-Israeli gap widens with bitter exchanges Turkey’s ties with Israel could be heading for a historic breakdown as tensions with the United States groan under ever greater weight. Palestine
Why China may not come to Iran’s rescue While China remains committed to the implementation of the nuclear deal with Iran, the extent of its economic interaction with the Islamic Republic may be limited by US sanctions. United States
Iran’s communication minister decries blocking of Telegram app Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has remained publicly optimistic despite the minor crises piling up for his administration. Iran
Israeli art students protest Gaza killing Israeli Science Minister Ofir Akunis, displeased with artwork by students at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design commemorating the 62 Palestinians recently killed by the IDF in Gaza, is denying all students from the school the opportunity to present artworks at an upcoming conference. Palestine
French group's manifesto against Quran draws rebuttals in Egypt A French group's call for removing some Quranic verses prompted responses ranging from "Ignore it and it'll go away" to "Go to hell." Egypt
Hamas focused on ending the blockade Hamas repeats the same strategy of violent demonstrations that it has used before in order to put pressure on Israel and Egypt to ease the Gaza blockade. Palestine
Gaza response shows Israel hasn’t learned from the past The Israeli government’s handling of the demonstrations on the Gaza border this week by using live fire against the protesters illustrates the continued blindness of its decision-makers. Palestine
Will new US sanctions affect Iran’s support for Hamas? While some believe new US sanctions will affect Iran’s economy and subsequently its financial support for Palestinian factions, others say this support is atop Iran’s priorities and won't stop. Palestine
Mosul's Great Mosque to be restored to its former glory The city of Mosul, which was the capital of the Islamic State in Iraq until less than a year ago, is planning to rebuild the historic Al-Nouri Mosque and its hunchback minaret with financial support from the UAE and under UNESCO supervision. Iraq
Can Al-Azhar persuade Egyptians to stay married? Al-Azhar has launched a unit to research the causes behind Egypt's exploding divorce rate and to counsel people considering divorce to reconsider. Egypt
