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
Rights group criticizes Jordan over debt imprisonment Human Rights Watch has highlighted the plight of poor Jordanians imprisoned for failing to pay back loans taken out to meet basic needs. Jordan
'Scores' of migrants burned to death from Houthi projectiles in Yemen: HRW Human Rights Watch accused Houthi security forces of firing "unidentified projectiles" into a migrant detention center earlier this month. Yemen
Iraq gives visa on arrival to citizens of 30 countries The list includes the United States, China and other large economies in a bid to attract investment to Iraq; most foreigners need to apply for a visa before traveling to Iraq. Iraq
Lapid’s discrete campaign for premiership gains momentum Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid has not declared himself a candidate for prime minister, but he is clearly positioning himself as the real threat to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel
Dahlan courts Gaza, Hamas with vaccine deliveries ahead of elections Dismissed Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan has arranged for the delivery of another shipment of coronavirus vaccines to the Gaza Strip, raising questions about the aid’s link to the upcoming elections. Palestine
Unconstrained Netanyahu jeopardizes relations with Jordan Desperate to achieve a photo-op in Abu Dhabi before the March 23 elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blows off against Jordan when delaying his Emirati trip. Israel
French citizen charged with espionage in Iran The man was flying a helicopter with a camera in the desert, according to his lawyer. Several foreigners have been charged with spying and related crimes in Iran recently. Iran
Erdogan’s Islamic credentials no longer a winning hand among Turkey’s Kurds The ruling party’s increasingly strong alliance with nationalists has dampened support among the country’s Kurds. Turkey
NGOs file Syria torture complaint against Russia’s Wagner Group The rights organizations allege that the shadowy paramilitary group is behind the 2017 torture and killing of a Syrian military defector. Syria
Iran's Revolutionary Guards tout new missile base in support of navy Top IRGC commanders inaugurated on Monday what Iranian state television described as a new underground missile base. Iran
Jordan-Israeli ties on the brink over obstruction of royal visit to holy shrine King Abdullah II has had enough of Benyamin Netanyahu's provocations over custodianship over Al-Aqsa Mosque and has retaliated by scuttling the Israeli premier's so-called historic trip to the UAE when Israel botched his son's visit to Jerusalem. Now Jordan-Israel ties have reached a new low as Netanyahu battles for his political survival in next week's elections. Jordan
COVID accelerates evolution of Gulf economies The economic policy response to COVID-19 is an acceleration of specific trends already underway across the Gulf Cooperation Council members, variously affecting tax policy, labor market regulation and immigration policy. Saudi Arabia
