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
Gulf countries increase virus-related restrictions after new cases The United Arab Emirates and Qatar registered more than 2,000 coronavirus cases between the two of them on Monday alone. Saudi Arabia
Saudi courts ordered to stop flogging for ‘tazir’ crimes Judges in the kingdom can no longer prescribe flogging as a punishment for lesser crimes. Originals
First commercial flight between UAE and Israel lands in Tel Aviv The Etihad Airways cargo plane brought COVID-19 aid to Palestinians via Ben Gurion airport. United Arab Emirates
Intel: Biden warns against West Bank annexation as Israel lobbies Trump for green light Former Vice President Joe Biden told campaign donors today that any Israeli annexation of the West Bank would “choke off any hope for peace,” according to a transcript of the presumptive Democratic nominee’s remarks seen by Al-Monitor. Palestine
Rocket hits Baghdad's Green Zone in first such incident for new PM The rocket reportedly landed near the US Embassy and caused little damage. Iraq
Israeli soccer fans dream of returning to stadiums Israeli soccer players have resumed training sessions and might even play again, but the fans are still kept away from the stadiums. Israel
Hifter’s forces in Libya withdraw from parts of Tripoli in major setback The capture of two towns and a key air base were the latest in a series of setbacks for military strongman Khalifa Hifter. Libya
Turkey’s crackdown on mayors amounts to coup, says opposition party The arrest last week of five mayors from the Peoples’ Democratic Party leaves it with control of just a fifth of the cities it won in an election last year. Turkey
Dubai police test using surveillance cameras to detect coronavirus The CCTV cameras will also test the distance between individuals in shopping centers and public places. Originals
Syrian government freezes assets of Assad cousin The move to seize the assets of the businessman is the latest in a dispute that began to heat up late last year. Syria
Intel: China tangled in US sanctions web for ties to Iran’s Mahan Air The United States sanctioned a China-based company today for providing “general sales agent services” for Iran’s Mahan Air. United States
Iran cancels anti-Israeli rallies over pandemic fears A fresh spike in coronavirus transmissions has forced Iranian officials to cancel a state-organized annual march against Israel. Iran
