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
Netflix yanks 'Designated Survivor' episode in Turkey over portrayal of fictional president A Turkish regulator has ordered Netflix to remove an episode of "Designated Survivor" that paints an unflattering portrayal of a fictional Turkish president. Turkey
Assad’s billionaire cousin denies tax evasion, begs for help in Facebook video Syrian telecom tycoon Rami Makhlouf has made a rare public statement calling on his cousin President Bashar al-Assad to dismiss charges of tax evasion. Syria
Intel: US doubles down on Turkey S-400 sanctions threats The Donald Trump administration has doubled down on threats to sanction Turkey should it activate the Russian S-400 missile defense system. Turkey
Two sets of explosions rock Syria, amid claims of Israeli involvement There were explosions at a military warehouse in Homs and airstrikes in the Syrian Golan Heights today. Israel
Erdogan's cold war with Saudi Arabia and UAE Turkey's patience with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates is running low, sources tell Al-Monitor. Saudi Arabia
Instead of attacking, Israel now ignores ICC With the coronavirus spreading, Israel’s political echelon paid no attention to the announcement by ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda about charging Israel for war crimes. Palestine
Jerusalemites complain about discrimination at airports The coronavirus appears to have exposed once more the cloudy status of Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem, as the deportation of a professor and the denial of boarding to some has left may worried that the legal status of 350,000 Palestinians is in danger. Palestine
Low projections dim Ankara's high hopes for tourism recovery Turkey plans to begin reopening domestic travel in late May, but prospects remain gloomy for its crucial tourism sector, which relies largely on foreign visitors. Turkey
Extremist Syrian rebel group tests Turkey's limits in Idlib Jihadi forces resisting the reopening of the key M4 highway in Idlib are squeezed between Turkey’s amity and military might, but Turkey itself is not without dilemmas. Syria
Israel’s top court to decide fate of Netanyahu’s unity government The political fate of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the feasibility of a national unity government are now in the hands of the Israeli Supreme Court. Israel
European ambassadors warn Israel over annexation plans A group of 11 European ambassadors to Israel has made it clear that West Bank annexation plans will be met with fierce international objection. Palestine
Lebanon to seek IMF assistance to help with economic crisis The prime minister said Lebanon would seek $10 billion in loans from the international financial institution after passing a reform bill. Lebanon
