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
Turkish cop photographed killing Kurdish student walks free Young Kurd Kemal Kurkut was shot dead in 2017 in Diyarbakir and while his police officer killer will go unpunished, the photographer who documented the incident faces serious charges. Turkey
Israel’s Gantz announces major step for LGBTQ rights Defense Minister Benny Gantz ordered the "Name of Mother/Name of Father" section be stricken from all administrative forms, to be replaced by "Parent 1/Parent 2." Israel
Jordan welcomes Biden presidency Jordanian leaders hope a Biden administration will support a two-state solution. Jordan
Egypt backs Polisario Front, risks relations with Morocco As the conflict between the Polisario Front and Morocco intensifies, more than eight Arab countries rush to declare their full support for the kingdom, while Egypt simply calls on the parties to show restraint and refrain from any provocative actions. Egypt
Egypt rallies Namibia, Zambia for support in Nile Dam talks Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hosted officials from Namibia and Zambia, who have expressed support for Egypt’s role in the African continent. Egypt
Interfaith marriage fatwa feeds debate in Egypt An Islamic scholar has stated that the Quran does not forbid Muslim women from marrying non-Muslim men as the endless debate on interfaith marriage continues in Egypt. Egypt
Israel becoming powerhouse of first-crop olive oil Several family olive groves in Israel are specialized in first-crop olive oil, a cloudy oil containing very fresh, very strong flavors. Israel
Israeli Arabs enjoy fruits of normalization with the Emirates For some Israeli Arabs the normalization agreement with the United Arab Emirates opens a range of possibilities for both business and tourism. United Arab Emirates
Biden will face matrix of conflicting influence campaigns in Africa, Mideast Egypt seeks to check Turkish influence in North Africa and the Horn, while its priority remains Nile Dam talks with Ethiopia. North Africa
Egypt criticized for arrests of human rights advocates The Trump administration, the Biden Campaign and the United Nations also expressed concern about the arrests. Egypt
Turkey expands crackdown on pro-Kurdish activists with dozens of raids The prospect for promises of sweeping reform looked bleak in the wake of more than 70 arrests that targeted politicians, doctors, lawyers, journalists and civil society activists. Turkey
Iraq cool to Iranian offers of military cooperation Iran is seeking to sell weapons and military equipment to Iraq through military cooperation agreements between the two countries, but Iraq is holding back. Originals
