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
Palestinian officials hopeful for Biden victory, public not so much The Palestinian leadership believes that the victory of Democratic candidate Joe Biden in the US presidential election may restore the Palestinian-US relationship, though Palestinians in general are not optimistic about a change in US policy if Biden wins. Originals
Ahead of presidential elections, Israelis cheering for Trump Israelis love US President Donald Trump — not only for his diplomatic gestures toward the country, but also for his informal, blunt style. Israel
Knesset approves UAE deal with overwhelming majority Eighty parliamentarians voted last night in favor of the normalization deal with the United Arab Emirates, signed on Oct. 15 at the White House in Washington. Israel
Senate Democrats urge Library of Congress to recognize Armenian genocide Democratic Senators said the library should follow Congress and rebuke the Trump administration by referring to the killings of Armenians in Turkey in the early 20th century as a "genocide." Turkey
Intel: EU sanctions suspected head of Russia’s Wagner paramilitary group Kremlin insider Yevgeny Prigozhin is suspected of involvement in Wagner's paramilitary activities in Libya Libya
Saudi FM wants focus on Israeli-Palestinian talks over 'eventual normalization' Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said the focus of Palestinian-Israeli peace efforts should be on bringing the two sides back to the negotiating table. Saudi Arabia
Intel: US Air Force trains with Israel’s newest F-35 squadron Exercise Lightning III focused on offensive air operations involving simulated enemy aircraft and ground targets. Israel
Iran reports two new cyberattacks An official did not reveal any further details on the incidents, Reuters reported. Iran was rocked by a series of mysterious explosions and fires over the summer. Iran
Libya detains alleged human trafficker sanctioned by UN The United Nations imposed sanctions on Abd al-Rahman al-Milad, a former Libyan coast guard commander, in 2018. Libya
Erdogan demands new laws to reel in Turkish medical group Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged parliament to curb the influence of the Turkish Medical Association, which has been critical of the state’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Turkey
Qatar Airways reaches 100 destinations with Sofia, Bucharest fights Qatar's flagship airline flew to around 160 airports before the COVID-19 pandemic, and this figure dropped to 30 at one point amid the crisis. Originals
Yemen’s rival sides begin largest-yet prisoner swap The Houthi rebels and the Aden-based government agreed last month to exchange 1,081 prisoners. Yemen
