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
Erdogan vows to tighten social media controls after insults on family Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he will to introduce new measures to hold social media platforms accountable after his family members were insulted online. Turkey
Why hasn't the EU lifted travel ban on Turkey? The European Union decision to exclude Turkey from the list of travel-friendly countries seems to have more to do with political disagreements rather than public health concerns. Originals
Iraqi government battle against Iran-backed militias enters new phase The battle to rein in armed militias outside state control has been a long and challenging process, but the Iraqi prime minister is gathering political support for his efforts. Iraq
Intel: Iran, Russia, Turkey discuss stabilizing Syria in virtual summit The presidents of Turkey, Iran and Russia held a virtual summit to discuss the latest developments in Syria today. Syria
Turkey’s ‘peg-legged’ foreign currency reserves Turkey’s central bank appears increasingly fragile, with more than 60% of its reserves secured through swap deals. Turkey
Intel: Working Group on Egypt urges Pompeo to get tough on Sisi As Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi widens his crackdown on government critics, a bipartisan group of foreign policy experts urged US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to call out America's longtime ally for human rights abuses. Egypt
Intel: Pompeo warns Turkey against reverting Hagia Sophia to mosque US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo waded into the Turkish debate today over whether the historic Hagia Sophia museum should be made back into a mosque. Turkey
Intel: Congress urges UN to reopen humanitarian aid crossings into Syria A bipartisan group of US lawmakers urged the United Nations to reopen a key border crossing into Syria, which Russia shut down in January using its veto power at the Security Council. Syria
Israeli left chills public support for annexation New campaigns by the Israeli political left seem to be effectively throwing cold water on the public's support of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s annexation plan. Israel
Northwest Syria holds breath for decision on cross-border aid Syrians in Idlib fear aid cuts as much as new battles as their living conditions worsen. Syria
How Caesar Act could hurt Lebanon's Tripoli With residents of Tripoli already suffering shortages under Lebanon’s mounting system-wide collapse, the US Caesar Act promises to both hinder investment in Tripoli and increase cross-border smuggling. Lebanon
Palestinian journalists hamstrung by Israel, PA law, internet giants Palestinian journalists face pressure from multiple directions, even in the relative freedom of the internet. Palestine
