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
Senior UAE official warns Israeli public against annexation in op-ed In an unprecedented op-ed at the Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, UAE Ambassador to Washington and Minister Yousef Al-Otaiba calls upon Israel to retract from its annexation plan. United Arab Emirates
Iraq keeps heat on Islamic State by targeting leaders Iraqi intelligence and military operations against IS have dealt a heavy blow to the group, which has lost a number of its leaders and fighters in recent months both inside and outside of Iraq. Iraq
New wave of protests rocks Beirut Lebanon's wide protests are regaining steam and the streets are growing more violent as partisan loyalties foment conflict among the demonstrators. Lebanon
Archaeologists, activists alarmed by online calls to demolish Pyramids After bringing down statues, symbolic of racism and oppression in the US and the UK during the Black Lives Matter protests, some social media activists started calling for the demolition of the Pyramids, basing their argument on the contested notion that they were built by slaves. Egypt
Turkey hinders Egyptian peace efforts in Libya Cairo proposed a political initiative to resolve the Libyan crisis calling for a cease-fire between the conflicting parties, but the Government of National Accord, backed by Turkey, rejected it. Egypt
Netanyahu’s annexation plan now in Gantz, Ashkenazi’s hands Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi must now make up their minds about backing annexation. Palestine
Trump fights Netanyahu’s war against ICC Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the decision by US President Donald trump to sanction workers of the ICC, blaming the international court for fabricating accusations against the Jewish people. Originals
Qatar National Bank hit with lawsuit over Americans killed by Hamas in Israel A wrongful death lawsuit was filed in New York by dozens of relatives of 10 Americans killed or wounded by Hamas attacks in Israel and the West Bank. Qatar
New report details damage to Iraqi economy during COVID-19 pandemic The report by the UN-affiliated International Organization for Migration shows how virus-related restrictions have led to revenue and job losses for small and medium-sized businesses in Iraq. Iraq
Intel: Congress pushes back against Pentagon plan to withdraw US forces from Egypt’s Sinai Congress is using a key defense bill to push back against Defense Secretary Mark Esper’s reported plans to withdraw US peacekeeping forces from Egypt’s Sinai. Egypt
After promising accountability, Iraq arrests suspect in protester's death The spokesman for the Defense Ministry said the suspect killed an anti-government protester in Baghdad. Iraq
Intel: Trump lines up behind Libya cease-fire proposed by Egypt’s Sisi President Donald Trump praised Egypt for its Libya cease-fire proposal during a conversation on Wednesday with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Egypt
