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
Intel: Al-Qaeda branch confirms US drone killed Zarqawi relative in Syria An al-Qaeda branch in northwest Syria has confirmed that a US drone strike earlier this month killed one of the group’s most senior leaders, a veteran Jordanian jihadi who had been close to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Syria
Intel: Democrats stare down AIPAC with annexation warning The majority of House Democrats united today to warn Israel against unilaterally annexing parts of the West Bank despite opposition from the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Israel
Iran passes 10,000 COVID-19 deaths Iran's president says citizens must wear masks as part of a “new phase” of dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. Iran
State Department concerned by reports Egypt is harassing American activist’s family After spending nearly two years in a Cairo prison, Mohamed Soltan filed a lawsuit in a US court against Egypt's former prime minister. Egypt
Iran hunkers down in Syria after Caesar Act sanctions Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says it has no backup plan and is not leaving Syria. Syria
Erdogan’s most loyal supporters want to know where the money is The battle between the haves and the have-nots within the ruling party base is intensifying. Turkey
Netanyahu's war on critical journalists threatens Israeli democracy Photos of reporter Amnon Abramovich needing a police escort to escape a demonstration in support of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should sound an alarm for all Israelis. Israel
Egypt's saber-rattling on Libya raises eyebrows President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's warning of possible Egyptian military intervention in Libya drew mixed reactions both at home and from parties to the conflict. Egypt
Egyptian expats in Libya fall victim to political differences Egyptian workers in Libya have been repatriated after being detained and subjected to torture in Libya, which caused a national outcry in the streets and at the political level. Originals
European parliamentarians write letter against Israeli annexation of West Bank The letter rebukes the Trump administration's support for a partial annexation of Palestinian territory. Palestine
Baby girl diagnosed with coronavirus dies in Lebanon The infant was admitted to the hospital 25 days after her birth. Lebanon
The Takeaway: Qatar ambassador says dialogue, respect for sovereignty key to heal GCC rift In new podcast, Meshal Al-Thani, Qatar’s ambassador to the United States, also discusses World Cup, COVID-19, regional issues; Iran’s chief rabbi speaks with Israeli writer; Tunisia victim of Libya war spillover; Oman gets handle on debt. Originals
