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
Turkey approaches point of no return on employing Russian air defense system Ankara’s decision to test-fire its controversial Russian missiles, overriding US warnings, appears driven by a combination of motives related to its ties with both Washington and Moscow. Turkey
Egypt eyes more economic benefits after signing maritime demarcation deal with Greece Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi issued a presidential decree to ratify the historic agreement signed with Greece on the demarcation of maritime borders, which could help further boost Egypt’s ambition to become a major regional energy hub. Egypt
France, Egypt join forces to reach settlement in Libya Observers are optimistic about the new initiative launched by Paris and Cairo to solve the Libyan crisis. Egypt
Iraq, Jordan, Egypt economic partnership gains momentum The tripartite meeting between the foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan and Iraq, and the ensuing agreements to boost cooperation raises questions about a nascent alliance that could confront Iran’s growing influence in the region. Egypt
Jordan backs Egypt in Nile dam dispute Jordan's foreign minister has declared his country's support for Egypt regarding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, stressing that water security is integral to Arab security. Egypt
Egypt caves to popular pressure, displays controversial French statue After years of tension and popular pressure, Egypt has decided to move the statue of French engineer Ferdinand de Lesseps, who was behind digging the Suez Canal, from the Port Said governorate to exhibit it at the headquarters of the Suez Canal International Museum in Ismailia governorate. Egypt
Israel, Bahrain establish diplomatic relations at a ceremony in Manama Israel’s Foreign Ministry Director General Alon Ushpiz and Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani signed yesterday a joint communique for the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Bahrain
Iraqi militias defy government, expand networks and pressure Militias in Iraq are increasing their activities in response to the government's efforts to rein them in. Iraq
Israeli-Arab lawmakers reject normalization deal with Emirates Many Arab-Israelis disagree with the stance taken by the Joint List against the normalization deal with the United Arab Emirates. United Arab Emirates
European countries slam Israel over planned settlement expansion The foreign ministries of France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Spain called for an immediate halt to settlement construction in the West Bank. Palestine
Middle East’s chronic woes exacerbate COVID impact, IMF says Also: Israelis back Trump, Palestinians (kind of) tilt toward Biden. Regional
Remote learning widens educational gap between Turkey’s rich, poor Millions of students in Turkey have been effectively left out of remote learning by a lack of resources. Turkey
