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
A new page in Israeli-Saudi relations? Not so fast With US President Donald Trump soon out of the picture, the Saudis prefer to take things slow with Israel, and await the new Biden administration. Saudi Arabia
Mixed signals over Israel-Turkey relations An article published in the Tel Aviv University Turkeyscope review might suggest that Ankara wants to rehabilitate its relations with Jerusalem. Israel
Gregory Meeks elected next House Foreign Affairs Committee chair Meeks has a lengthy voting record on the Middle East and has been praised by a variety of Israel- and Iran-focused groups. Originals
Cyberattacks in UAE up 250% during pandemic, Emirati cyber chief says Emirati cybersecurity chief Mohamed al-Kuwaiti said his country is experiencing a “cyber pandemic.” United Arab Emirates
Child recruitment casts shadow over Syrian Kurds' push for global legitimacy Failed efforts to secure the return of a recent spate of Kurdish youth recruited to fight in northeast Syria shows the delicate path the region's autonomous administration must navigate in its relations with the PKK. Syria
Rita Ora apologizes after breaking quarantine following Cairo concert The British singer threw herself a birthday party in London upon her return. There are disputed reports Egyptian President Sisi was at her private performance in the Egyptian capital. Egypt
Facing EU sanctions threat, Erdogan calls for dialogue once more Ahead of a European Council summit in which EU leaders will discuss sanctions on Ankara this week over energy prospecting activities in the eastern Mediterranean, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated calls for dialogue, urging bloc members not be swayed by Greek and Cypriot agendas. Turkey
France won’t condition weapons sales to Egypt on human rights, Macron says French President Emmanuel Macron also said he spoke "frankly" about human rights with his Egyptian counterpart. Egypt
Slovenia designates Hezbollah as terrorist organization Slovenia has followed other European states in designating Hezbollah as a terror group, including both its political and its military wings. Lebanon
Why Gaza should have more female taxi drivers A Palestinian mother of five has broken all norms and traditions in the Gaza Strip by becoming the first female taxi driver in the besieged enclave. Originals
Iraqi government considers sales tax to relieve budget crisis Iraq is mulling the possibility of imposing a sales tax amid concerns over the consequences of such a move on Iraqis already struggling in a down economy. Iraq
European powers call Iran’s enrichment plans 'deeply worrying' The governments of France, Germany and the United Kingdom expressed concerns over Iran's reported plan to install additional centrifuges at its Natanz nuclear facility. Iran
![Rafael Grossi (R), Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), listens to Iran's Atomic Energy Vice-President Ali Akbar Salehi, who attends virtually the 64th General Conference of the IAEA at the agency's headquarters in Vienna, Austria on September 21, 2020. (Photo by JOE KLAMAR / AFP) / The erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadata of this photo by JOE KLAMAR has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: [Ali Akbar Salehi] instead of [Zarif]. Please immediately rem](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2020/12/GettyImages-1228631637.jpg/GettyImages-1228631637.jpg?h=ab741efc&itok=y-Hl7_5_)
