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
Pro-settler Saar: the new hope of Israel's center-left Likud-rebel Gideon Saar is against a Palestinian state and is close to the ultra-Orthodox politicians, yet voters from the center-left camp support him in the polls. Israel
Iraqi banks undertake overdue reforms Iraqi banks have undertaken reforms, coinciding with the Iraqi government's measures to reform the economy. Iraq
Palestinian spirits sag as coronavirus steals Christmas Taybeh, the only village in Palestine where the entire population is Christian, is having a dreary holiday season with residents confined at home due to the pandemic. Palestine
UAE joins Egypt-led Eastern Med Gas Forum Abu Dhabi announced that it has joined the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum based in Cairo, as part of efforts to counter Turkey’s ambitions in the area. Egypt
Sisi supporters propose 'online army' to counter Brotherhood As the anniversary of Egypt's January 25 Revolution approaches, the regime is tightening restrictions on information it says tarnishes the state’s image and loyalists are lending an enthusiastic hand. Egypt
Christians in Gaza celebrate gloomy Christmas this year Christians in the Gaza Strip will be celebrating Christmas at home this year in light of the lockdown and travel restrictions imposed to stem the skyrocketing number of coronavirus cases. Palestine
Despite attempt at makeover, Syria’s HTS remains on US terror list Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has been trying to present itself as a moderate group seeking to have its name removed from the international terrorist list, but these attempts are failing after the United States recently designated it among the "Entities of Particular Concern." Syria
Why Palestinians found Moroccan normalization easier to take Unlike Israel's normalization deals with the UAE, Bahrain and Sudan, the most recent one with Morocco caused little anger among Palestinians. Palestine
Israeli sex abuse suspect finally to be extradited to Australia Twelve years after she fled to Israel, Malka Leifer is to be extradited to Australia, to stand trial over heavy suspicions of sexual abuse against minors. Originals
Yemeni government, southern separatists agree to government formation The Southern Transitional Council rescinded its declaration of autonomy in July, which paved the way for reconciliation with the government. Yemen
Egypt demands Italy hand over ex-officials accused of stealing artifacts The case centers on some 22,000 Egyptian relics, including gold coins, discovered by Italian authorities in 2017. Egypt
Iraq, KRG, Turkey find common ground in response to PKK Kurdish group increasingly isolated; meanwhile, Syrian Kurds boxed in by Turkey, Russia and Assad. Iraq
