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
Libya says armed group forces production halt at major oil field Libya's state-run oil company says the Sharara oil field had just resumed operations before it was stormed by gunmen. Libya
Iran to execute man convicted of spying on Soleimani for US, Israel The Iranian judiciary has remained vague on whether information allegedly passed on by Mahmoud Mousavi-Majd had been directly involved in the US killing of the top general. Iran
Report: Iran builds fake aircraft carrier for drills The Associated Press obtained photos of the mock warship at a time of heightened US-Iran tensions. United States
Turkish women rage against sexism with topsy-turvy tweets Ever since last week, Turkish women have been giving their male counterparts a taste of sexist remarks by switching sex in popular sayings or political statements. Turkey
Turkey sees success in Libya shaping relations with US Turkey and the United States reached "some agreements" on Libya during a phone call, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says. Turkey
Qatar to begin phased reopening Coronavirus cases continue to rise in the Gulf country even as restrictions are eased. Originals
Turkey rounds up scores of citizens with alleged Gulen links A majority of those arrested were active members of the air force or police. Turkey
Shin Bet halts surveillance of coronavirus patients With Shin Bet head Nadav Argaman reluctant and faced with public objections, the Israeli government has suspended consideration of a bill legalizing the electronic tracking of those infected with the novel coronavirus. Israel
Iraqi Sunnis seek answers for those displaced in time of fighting Islamic State Sunni politicians are putting pressure on the Kadhimi government to determine the fate of Sunnis displaced during the fight against the Islamic State. Iraq
Netanyahu thwarts risk of submarine scandal resurfacing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has apparently managed to distance himself from any risks of being implicated in the submarine scandal. Israel
Netanyahu needs Gantz to win Trump's annexation go-ahead Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must get his political partner Defense Minister Benny Gantz on board first for US President Donald Trump to endorse his annexation plan. Israel
Egypt’s project in Tanzania refutes Ethiopia’s accusations The project to build a dam on the Rufiji River in Tanzania, which is being carried out by a joint venture of Egyptian companies, proves wrong Ethiopia that has been claiming Cairo is standing in the way of development projects in Africa. Egypt
