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 Jordan reclaim sovereignty over controversial land on Israeli border? Statements by former Jordanian Prime Minister Abdel Salam al-Majali that a tiny strip of land on the Jordan-Israel border — ceded by Israel to Jordan under the 1994 peace treaty and then leased back to Israel — is owned by Jews have stirred a nationwide controversy. Israel
Israelis pick Passover food fight The Israeli public is less concerned than the litigants might like about a Supreme Court case over the widely observed prohibition on unleavened food in hospitals during Passover. Israel
Fatah fosters ties with Ankara The Fatah movement has been growing closer to Turkey while its ties with Cairo seem to be deteriorating. Palestine
Counter-IS officials temper Trump’s rush to pull out of Syria US officials guiding the fight in Syria warned of a long struggle ahead to defeat the Islamic State. Iraq
Deadly Ankara-West fault line cracks open at Syria's Manbij Confrontation with the United States and the West is a necessary ingredient in Erdogan’s quest to consolidate his nationalist base, making it more likely that Turkey and the United States will collide over Manbij. Syria
How Israel’s divided society can thrive As Israel prepares to celebrate 70 years since it declared independence, it is time to come to terms with the fact that embracing diversity may be better than forcing cohesion. Israel
Turkey baffled by Trump’s pledge to exit Syria as Macron vows to step in Ankara’s enthusiasm over President Trump's promise to pull out of Syria is dampened by President Macron’s promise to increase support for Syrian Kurdish groups opposed by Turkey. Syria
Erdogan ramps up dispute with Kosovo over deportation of Gulen-linked Turks Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj would "pay" for his actions after the latter sacked his interior minister and spy chief following the secret deportation of six Turks. Turkey
Rouhani administration pushes back against Telegram blocking Amid rumors about the imminent filtering of Telegram in Iran, President Hassan Rouhani moved to express his opposition to such a decision. Iran
How an Oklahoman is scoring goals in Iran A woman from Tulsa, Oklahoma, has emerged as an unlikely mover and shaker in Iranian women’s soccer. Iran
Gaza fishermen face gunfire, death plying their trade Fishermen in the Gaza Strip say Israel is shooting at them even though they are within the permissible fishing zone. Palestine
What's behind Israeli education minister's worldwide quest for Jews? The report of a committee created by Minister of Education Naftali Bennett to increase the world’s Jewish population offers no reasonable explanation as to why this should be a strategic national objective for Israel. Israel
