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
Why Israel needs new regional alliances Facing US intention to withdraw from Syria, Israel must establish new regional alliances. Saudi Arabia
Meeting of top Palestinian decision-making body faces more boycotts The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the second largest faction of the PLO, will boycott the upcoming meeting of the Palestinian National Council to protest Fatah's refusal to hold the gathering in a neutral location where all factions can attend. Palestine
Has Egypt's Nobel laureate lost his appeal among country's youth? Naguib Mahfouz's books have sold less than 1 million copies over the last 12 years. Are Egyptian youth indifferent to the country's Nobel laureate or can they simply not find a copy to buy? Egypt
Egypt sets up system to manage seized Brotherhood assets Egypt has passed a law setting up measures for the seizure, assessment and managing of financial assets belonging to designated terrorist groups. Egypt
Trump has threatened to blow up the Iran deal — here are his options While the US president vows that he’s done waiving sanctions, the amount of damage he intends to do — from letting Tehran’s trade partners off the hook to reinstating UN sanctions — remains an open question. United States
Erdogan breathes new life into Turkey's opposition An Erdogan victory is looking less inevitable with a move by the Republican People's Party that will allow the right-wing Good Party to contest elections in June and perhaps draw former President Abdullah Gul into the running to once again lead Turkey. Turkey
Notorious Iranian prosecutor to begin serving prison sentence Iranian prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi has been apprehended and will began serving a two-year sentence over the 2009 death of a protester in prison. Iran
Russia rotates its Mideast diplomats Key players involved in the Russian Foreign Ministry's Middle East policy are changing positions, and there will be a new ambassador to Syria; will this also involve policy change? United Arab Emirates
Confrontation looms as Iran-Israel tension high in Syria While far from a new phenomenon, Iran and Israel are at a heightened risk of conflict in their confrontation in Syria. Israel
Disgruntled Kurds emerge as potential kingmakers in Turkey’s polls Kurdish frustration with Ankara’s shift from a policy that favored settlement with the Kurds to hard-line nationalism could sway the outcome of critical snap polls in June. Turkey
Saudi Arabia eyes Iraq's Anbar for potential investments Riyadh is considering significant investments in Iraq's Anbar province, but is facing opposition from certain Iraqi political forces and Shiite factions. Saudi Arabia
Egypt's street vendors face new restrictions Egypt’s parliament is drafting a law regulating the work of street vendors, which would save street vendors from remaining under the mercy of local authorities. Egypt
