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
State Department remains concerned by Turkey’s proxy fighters in northern Syria Turkey-allied fighters have faced widespread accusations of arbitrary detentions, extrajudicial killings and other abuses in northern Syria. Syria
The Takeaway: Will catastrophe reshape Lebanon’s social contract? The scoop on the Syrian Kurdish oil deal; Sisi to challenge Erdogan in Iraq and Syria; Lapid leads list of contenders to challenge Bibi; don’t shortchange Iraq’s resilience. Lebanon
Despite COVID-19, Israel allows foreign yeshiva students to enter country After a weekslong battle, foreign yeshiva students will be allowed to enter Israel with lenient quarantine requirements. Israel
Turkish lira slides 2% amid reserves concerns Turkey’s currency slumped 2% against the dollar Wednesday as concerns linger over Central Bank policies and depleted reserves. Turkey
KRG seeks US help to rein in Turkish attacks While the United States has denied rumors that a US military delegation met with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party in the Qandil mountains, sources tell Al-Monitor that a team of US special operations forces went to inspect sites damaged in Turkish airstrikes. Iraqi-Kurdistan
Egypt and Sudan suspend Nile River dam talks with Ethiopia The two countries disagreed with new guidelines from Ethiopia on filling the GERD just days into the resumed negotiations. Egypt
Full-fledged military escalation looms large in Idlib Developments in southern Idlib suggest that a five-month truce could soon come to an end with a fresh regime offensive to capture Syria’s last rebel stronghold. Syria
Has Iraq failed to control drone movement? Iraq is facing a new security challenge with its lack of control of drones, which have been increasingly used in the past months. Iraq
Why Iran could be approaching hyperinflation in coming years The asset markets in Iran have been witnessing sharp surging spikes in prices in the recent weeks and months on the back of astonishingly rising money supply. Iran
Iran hangs protester despite calls to halt execution Campaigns led by Iranian human rights activists failed to halt the execution of the protester arrested during anti-government rallies in late 2017. Iran
Appointing military advisers to oversee civil life in Egypt stirs anger According to a new law approved by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a military adviser will be tasked with representing the Ministry of Defense in every governorate, as is the case with all other ministries. Egypt
Has Israel's Gantz lost will to fight? With Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisting on a one-year budget, Defense Minister Benny Gantz is left with two unappealing choices and perhaps the end of his political career. Israel
