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
Iraq cracks down on illegal arms flow to militias, armed groups Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s government has launched a campaign in southern provinces to get illegal arms out of the hands of militias and tribal groups. Iraq
Al-Azhar keeps up campaign against Charlie Hebdo Al-Azhar has criticized French authorities' silence over the controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad recently republished by satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. Egypt
Egypt reaches out to Greece amid tension with Turkey Egypt is making diplomatic moves to counter Turkey’s growing involvement in the Eastern Mediterranean region amid escalating tension. Egypt
Israel installs more loudspeakers at Al-Aqsa Mosque Israel expands its surveillance of Al-Aqsa Mosque. This is in defiance of the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, which claims the surveillance is a violation of sovereignty. Palestine
Gaza factions respond with rockets to UAE, Bahrain normalization with Israel Israel retaliates with airstrikes as Palestinian armed groups in Gaza reject normalization and weigh their next moves. Palestine
Is Egypt sidelining its Libyan ally? Egypt has for the first time hosted a delegation from western Libya, which may point to the possible marginalization of eastern military commander Khalifa Hifter in upcoming peace talks. Egypt
Jordan clings to two-state solution in wake of normalization deals With normalization deals being signed and regional dynamics in flux, Jordan is trying to adapt to what it fears is faltering Arab support for the Palestinian issue and a two-state solution. Palestine
US deploys Bradley armored vehicles to Syria after dustups with Russia’s troops Four US service members were injured last month when a Russian troop carrier rammed a US military vehicle. Syria
US official alleges Hezbollah stashed ammonium nitrate throughout Europe The claim came amid a Trump administration push for the EU to fully designate Hezbollah's political wing a terrorist group. Lebanon
Trump awards rare honor to emir of Kuwait At press briefing after meeting a Kuwaiti delegation, US President Donald Trump said that "seven or eight countries" may be in line for normalization with Israel. Originals
‘It just sounded very nice’: US indicts Chicago man who shouldered a rifle for IS Lirim Sylejmani claimed the caliphate was not what he expected Originals
Trump administration leveraged terror designation to push Sudan to recognize Israel Last minute White House gambit risked efforts to obtain compensation for families of victims of the 1998 embassy bombings, sources tell Al-Monitor. Israel
