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
Netanyahu: Israel has 'good relations' with Jordan Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu keeps insisting that all is fine with Jordan. Israel
Israel behind serial sabotage of Iranian tankers, report says Israeli attacks have hit more than a dozen Iranian oil tankers in recent years, The Wall Street Journal reported. Israel
Turkey and Egypt make first diplomatic contact since 2013 The two countries were at odds over the 2013 coup in Egypt that brought Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to power. Egypt
A thaw in Turkey’s relations with Egypt? Gulf Cooperation Council reconciliation may have set in motion Ankara’s desire for a reset with Cairo. Egypt
Israel, Cyprus, Greece conduct naval exercise amid tensions with Turkey France also sent naval assets for the first time since last year's joint exercises. Israel
US restores aid to Houthi-held northern Yemen The announcement comes a year after the Trump administration slashed $73 million in assistance over concerns the Houthis were diverting the aid. Yemen
Iran receives COVID-19 vaccine from Cuba Iran enjoys warm relations with the Latin American state and the two countries are also developing a coronavirus vaccine together. Iran
Provocative music video leads to arrests in Iran Iran has arrested two music producers for working on Sasan Heidari Yafteh's new music video, "Tehran Tokyo." Iran
US, Western countries jointly condemn Egypt’s rights abuses Thirty-one member countries at the UN Human Rights Council issued a rare rebuke of Cairo's crackdown on peaceful dissent. Egypt
Washington’s Afghan plan diplomatic godsend for Ankara A US peace plan for Afghanistan, involving intra-Afghan talks in Turkey, could offer Ankara a chance to raise its international profile and break the ice with Washington. Turkey
Hamas appoints first woman to political bureau Hamas announced March 14 appointing a woman as a member in its political bureau for the first time since its establishment in 1987, in an attempt to improve its image to the world and deny the patriarchal aspect of its leadership structure. Palestine
Tunisian LGBT activist imprisoned after reporting police harassment The concerns of civil society organizations and the international community have grown stronger regarding restrictions on personal freedoms after a Tunisian court ruled against LGBT rights activist Rania Amdouni. Tunisia
