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
Egyptian, Iranian leaders criticize French president over comments on freedom of expression French President Emmanuel Macron angered many Muslim leaders when he defended images of the prophet of Islam after a Parisian teacher was beheaded for showing such images. Egypt
Saudi Arabia to pay families of health care workers who died from COVID-19 The government will disperse $133,000 per family. Saudi Arabia
Qatar reveals disturbing details and expresses 'regret' regarding strip-search of women at airport The Gulf state is under fire after women headed to Australia said they were forcibly searched in an attempt to see whether they had recently given birth to a newborn found alive in a trash can at Doha's airport. Qatar
Intel: New bill in Congress would push for Israel to get bunker-busting bombs The bill was announced the same day the International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran is building an underground centrifuge facility at Natanz. Israel
Turkish academic in Canada caught up in Ankara's anti-Kurdish sweep Cihan Erdal, a Ph.D. candidate at Carleton University and permanent resident in Canada, has been held since late September on alleged terror links. Turkey
Iranian plane sanctioned by US lands in Venezuela It is unclear what the aircraft brought. The United States maintains sanctions on both Iran and Venezuela. Iran
The Takeaway: Is Erdogan’s threat to Syrian Kurds linked to US election? Turkish president also calculates risk of escalation in Idlib; a primer on the Idlib ceasefires; plus: four more quick takes on Syria and Iraq. Syria
Erdogan sues Charlie Hebdo over caricature An ongoing Turkey-France spat deepened after French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo published a caricature of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, prompting legal action from Ankara. Turkey
Satellite images indicate construction at Iran's Natanz nuclear plant Work is apparently underway at a facility where Tehran said an act of sabotage caused an explosion in July. Iran
Intel: Pentagon undercounting civilian casualties in Yemen, watchdog says At least 86 civilians have been killed in US operations in Yemen since 2017, according to a new report by Airwars, a UK-based nongovernmental organization. Yemen
Parliament speaker tests positive on Iran’s deadliest virus day Iran’s hard-line parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has tested positive for the coronavirus as the pandemic rages the country. Iran
Jordan boycotts French products over Macron’s statements on offensive cartoons of Muhammad Jordanian citizens and shops launched a campaign to boycott French products in response to what they deemed as an “insult” on the part of the French president to the Prophet Muhammad by supporting the publication of cartoons. Jordan
![Iran's Atomic Energy Vice-President Ali Akbar Salehi, is seen speaking on a screen as he attends virtually the 64th General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at its 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 remove the erroneous mention[s] from all](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2020/10/GettyImages-1228632114.jpg/GettyImages-1228632114.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=JEDDB3d6)
