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
Tensions between Turkey, Turkish Cypriots escalate The Turkish government and the Turkish Cypriot president have a row in advance of the Oct. 11 presidential election in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus as tensions have been rising in the eastern Mediterranean; the president has not always been in line with Ankara. Turkey
Netanyahu flees Israeli lockdown for White House signing ceremony Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu clearly hopes that today's signing of Israeli-Gulf normalization agreements will overshadow his personal failures in managing the coronavirus crisis. Israel
Egypt rallies Arab League to counter Turkey's regional policies Egypt called on Arab countries to adopt a unified policy to deter the Turkish interference in the Arab region, especially in Libya, Syria and Iraq. Egypt
Ramallah meeting produces new Palestinian unity committee The various Palestinian factions that took part in the unity meeting in Ramallah agreed to establish yet another body in the name of unified national leadership. Palestine
Israel expands campaign to seize West Bank archaeological sites Israel gave notice of seizure of two new archaeological sites in the West Bank, in an endless series of targeting such sites in Palestinian areas. Palestine
Jordan reimposes restrictions on schools, businesses after COVID-19 spike Places of worship, cafes, restaurants and public markets must close their doors for the next two weeks. Jordan
Israeli sentenced to life in prison for 2015 murder of Palestinian toddler, parents Amiram Ben-Uliel was handed three life sentences for firebombing a Palestinian home in 2015, killing three of the family members inside. Israel
90 UN peacekeepers test positive for COVID-19 in Lebanon Most of the UN forces did not exhibit symptoms of the novel coronavirus. Lebanon
Can EU sanctions threat cool Turkey’s moves in eastern Mediterranean? EU leaders will gather on Sept. 24 to discuss sanctions on Turkey over its aggressive stance against Greece and Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean, where despite its hawkish statements, Ankara may be backing down. Turkey
Does France’s failure in Mali spell a victory for Turkey? Although claims regarding Turkish involvement in the Malian coup seem far-fetched, one can still see a conflict of interest between France and Turkey over Mali. Turkey
Saudi Arabia to resume some international flights Sept. 15 The Interior Ministry said a limited number of citizens and nonresidents will be eligible for flights entering and exiting the kingdom. Saudi Arabia
UAE to give emergency COVID-19 vaccine to at-risk workers The United Arab Emirates government said a vaccine has successfully completed trials, as COVID cases continue to rise. Originals
