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 leadership, for now, immune to normalization deals Financial incentives might be provided to the Palestinian Authority following the normalization deals between the UAE-Bahrain and Israel, however no change is in sight without a full Palestinian consensus. Originals
Netanyahu, peacemaker or troublemaker? Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is both a peacemaker and trouble maker, depending on his political needs. Originals
Will Netanyahu now make peace with Israel's Arab citizens? Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is eager to expand normalization beyond Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, but many Israeli Arabs would prefer that normalization begin at home. Originals
Intel: Pompeo questioned over State's declaring Egypt’s ex-PM immune from torture suit Rep. Gerry Connolly said he was "shocked to learn" the State Department had issued a certificate of immunity for Egypt's former prime minister. Egypt
OPEC+ pressures Iraq, UAE to further cut oil production Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members held a virtual meeting with Russia and other allied oil producers today to discuss the continuing low price of oil amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Saudi Arabia
US floats idea of upgrading Qatar to 'non-NATO ally' A senior State Department official made the suggestion amid a White House push for Arab states to recognize Israel following this year's strategic dialogue with Qatar. Qatar
Why UAE’s landmark deal with Israel is bad for Turkey Washington's doors are closing to Turkey while those same doors are being opened to Gulf monarchies. Turkey
Travelers to Abu Dhabi tracked during mandatory quarantine The news from Etihad Airways comes as daily COVID-19 cases reach another peak in the United Arab Emirates, which has joined Jordan in using wristbands to track people entering the country. United Arab Emirates
US imposes sanctions on Iranian intelligence, Hezbollah-linked targets in Lebanon New US sanctions affect 47 individuals and entities in Iran as well as three targets in Lebanon. Lebanon
Why is Turkey acquiescing to Egypt’s role in Libya? Egyptian mediation in Libya could prove a silver lining for Turkey as its ability to influence the conflict seems to wane, bearing also on its energy ambitions in the eastern Mediterranean. Turkey
Israel’s president apologizes for failure to cope with coronavirus President Reuven Rivlin apologized for the failure of the country's leadership to better cope with the coronavirus and appealed to citizens to follow new lockdown restrictions that are going into effect. Israel
Israeli and Emirati diamond exchanges sign 'collaboration agreement' Diamond exchanges in Israel and the UAE plan to open offices in each other's countries following the signing of the Abraham Accords this week. Originals
