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
US offers to mediate as Israel, Lebanon remain 'far apart' on maritime border talks Secretary of State Mike Pompeo lamented the lack of progress between the two countries on their Mediterranean border. Lebanon
Europe human rights court calls on Turkey to release Demirtas Europe’s top human rights court ruled Wednesday for the "immediate release" of Selahattin Demirtas, former co-chair of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), who has been imprisoned for more than four years in Turkey on terror-related charges. Turkey
With Morocco-Israel deal, US looks to maintain role in peace accords For the Trump administration, the renewal of ties between Israel and Morocco is first and foremost a reason to auto-congratulate and make speeches. Israel
US unveils new Syria sanctions targeting Assad’s British in-laws The US administration has blacklisted the commander of Syria's military intelligence organization, a senior aide to President Bashar al-Assad and Assad's British in-laws. Syria
Germany opposes arms embargo against Turkey Greece has called for European leaders to apply stronger pressure on Ankara over its actions in the eastern Mediterranean, but the appeals have largely fallen on deaf ears. Turkey
Intel: Congress throws Sudan-Israel normalization deal lifeline Sudan is to get $700 million in assistance and $230 million in preliminary debt relief, but 9/11 victims can continue their lawsuit against Khartoum. Israel
Is Turkey on course of foreign policy shift with pan-Turkist flavor? Ankara appears to be mulling a US-friendly foreign policy revision to counter Iran and Russia in the Caucasus and Black Sea regions, but such a shift will not be without geopolitical risks elsewhere. Turkey
Iran’s Zarif says he won’t run for president Iran’s foreign minister ruled out any possibility about his nomination in the country’s next presidential election, a race that hard-liners are already attempting to make entirely one-sided. Iran
KRG asks US forces to deploy along Kurdish-controlled part of Iraqi-Syrian border In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani’s deputy chief of staff outlined why the Kurdish region's government wants US forces stationed in and around the Fish Khabur border crossing. Iraq
Kushner, Israeli delegation arrive in Morocco on first direct flight Israeli and Moroccan officials are expected to sign the first of several accords cementing relations between the two countries. Israel
Somalian opposition irked by Turkish support ahead of presidential elections Turkey’s support to Somalia, a focal point of Ankara’s Africa outreach, has become increasingly controversial as the Somalian opposition fears that the president could use it to rig the upcoming elections. Turkey
Russian, Palestinian leaders discuss Israel-Palestinian peace process Russia has voiced willingness to mediate between Israel and Palestine in its capacity as a member of the Middle East Quartet. Palestine
![Women take part in a demonstration against the Somali President Mohamed Abdulahi Farmajo in Mogadishu on December 15, 2020 accused of interferences in the electoral process. (Photo by STRINGER / AFP) / The erroneous mention appearing in the metadata of this photo by STRINGER has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: [a demonstration against the Somali President Mohamed Abdulahi Farmajo] instead of [a demonstration against the Somali Prime Minister]. Please immediately remove the erroneous me](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2020/12/GettyImages-1230135321.jpg/GettyImages-1230135321.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=5izYbmvi)
