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
A way forward for the United States and Turkey Turkish-US relations, while fraught with tension, must also align with a mutual interest in stability in the Middle East and preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction. Turkey
House Democrats revive bid to fully restore Palestinian aid The Democratic-held House is launching another bid to increase Palestinian economic aid while facilitating people-to-people programs with Israel. Palestine
UN expert calls US killing of Soleimani 'unlawful' The UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions called the US strike an “arbitrary killing” that threatens to undermine norms of military conflict between countries. Iraq
Rising EU-Turkey tensions take center stage with Borrell visit to Ankara With EU accession talks frozen, the bloc’s foreign policy chief faces the tough task of creating a new negotiation table for the bloc and Ankara to address rising tensions. Turkey
Lebanon's Baalbeck Festival moves world audience with dramatic online performance Lebanon's beloved Baalbeck Festival has survived various challenging times, and this year was no exception. Lebanon
Hopes that Russia will drop objections to UN humanitarian aid routes to Syria begin to rise With only hours left for the UN Security Council to announce the outcome of a vote on a draft resolution extending the mandate for critical aid routes to Syria, hopes are rising that Moscow won't stand in the way. Syria
Intel: AIPAC rebukes Democrats again for bill to keep US aid out of annexation The American Israel Public Affairs Committee issued its third rebuke of Democratic lawmakers in as many weeks over their repeated attempts to keep Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from annexing significant portions of the West Bank. Israel
Iran cuts oil production and storage is nearly full amid pandemic, US sanctions Reuters reported that Iran's onshore storage facilities are nearly full while production is at its lowest point since the Iran-Iraq war. United States
Baghdad's row with Ankara could benefit each side Turkey’s latest military operation against Kurdish militants based in northern Iraq has triggered harsh reactions from Baghdad but also opened room for dialogue between the militaries of the two sides. Iraq
Germany, France, Egypt and Jordan issue statement against West Bank annexation The countries wrote that they oppose Israel's planned incorporation of parts of the Palestinian territory. The plans have hit roadblocks in Israel this month. Israel
Iran sets record daily deaths from coronavirus Iran marked its highest daily mortality rate in the coronavirus pandemic as hospitals are increasingly overstretched amid an exponential influx of new cases. Iran
Assyrians caught in crossfire between Turkey, PKK fighting Wars, attacks by the Islamic State, pressure from remaining militia groups and now attacks by Turkey have emptied or destroyed many Assyrian communities in northern Iraq. Iraq
