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
Israel’s Gulf diplomacy and its discontents As Israel and its new regional partners begin trade talks, Palestinians, Israeli Arabs and the Israeli left are on the sidelines. United Arab Emirates
The Netherlands takes first step in holding Syria’s torturers to account The Dutch Foreign Ministry says it will hold Syria responsible for "gross human rights violations" in a process that could make its way to the UN's International Court of Justice. Syria
Jordan to imprison, fine people who hold large gatherings The Hashemite Kingdom is in the midst of a COVID-19 outbreak after earlier success fighting the virus. Jordan
Qatar Airways resumes Amman flights Jordan reopened its airport to international flights this month after delays related to COVID-19. Originals
Tel Aviv battles against strip clubs New regulations adopted by the Tel Aviv municipality would enable it to ban new striptease clubs in the city and render such openings a criminal offense. Israel
'Cuties' spurs calls by Egyptian authorities to censor Netflix There have been increasing calls in Egypt to censor certain Netflix content, while art critics believe it would be difficult to censor the work of the global network. Egypt
Turkish border guards reportedly abusing Syrians at border crossings Hundreds of Syrians try to cross every day to Turkey, whose borders are now closed, making them take illegal smuggling routes; dozens have been subjected to inhuman treatment by the Turkish border guards. Syria
Cairo’s ancient Bassatine Jewish cemetery completes first-of-its-kind restoration project The restoration project of Cairo’s Bassatine Jewish Cemetery, believed to be the second-oldest in the world, mainly aims at attracting tourism while at the same time shedding light on Egypt’s dwindling Jewish community. Originals
Family of Palestinian boy disfigured in 2015 firebomb attack still seeking justice An Israeli court sentenced to life imprisonment the Jewish settler behind the 2015 arson attack in the village of Duma in the northern West Bank, which killed three members of the Dawabsha family, but the family says the court’s decision is not enough. Palestine
Muslim Brotherhood appoints acting guide after arrest of leader The recent arrest of acting Muslim Brotherhood leader Mahmoud Ezzat raises many questions, especially among younger members, about his potential successor and the fate of the organization in Egypt. Egypt
Many Egyptians unmoved by heroic 'train lady' story A woman who offered to pay a conscript's train fare has been celebrated as a national hero in Egypt, but skeptics suggest the incident was staged to deflect attention from bigger challenges faced by the country. Egypt
Russia pushes COVID-19 vaccine in Egypt Moscow is busily promoting its COVID-19 vaccine in Egypt, which it hopes to recruit for testing and production purposes. Egypt
