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
Israel’s largest bank admits to helping taxpayers use offshore accounts, facilitating FIFA conspiracy Bank Hapoalim agrees to pay the United States more than $900 million in connection with the two cases. Israel
Arab League slams West Bank annexation plans as ‘war crime’ The pan-Arab organization met to discuss Israeli plans for annexing parts of the territory the Palestinians envision for a future state. Palestine
Intel: US Syria envoy says Turkey must put pressure on Idlib militants Turkey should keep up the pressure on the hard-line Islamist group in control of Syria’s embattled Idlib province, the US special envoy for Syria said today. Syria
Report: Trump threatened to remove US troops from Saudi if no oil production cut Trump told the Saudi Crown Prince that US troops would leave Saudi Arabia if OPEC did not cut production, according to a new report. Saudi Arabia
Turkey says virus outbreak at peak as government weighs easing restrictions The country’s health minister credits new therapies and contact tracing for a recent decline in new cases, but warns it is still too soon to loosen restrictions on mobility to mitigate the outbreak. Turkey
Iran’s hard-liners in tug of war over parliament speakership A battle for the speaker’s seat appears to be the opening episode of a fresh round of infighting among Iran’s hard-liners after their victory in a one-sided parliamentary election. Iran
Israeli attorney general clears Netanyahu to head new government Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit told the Supreme Court today that the indictment poses no legal obstacle to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heading the next government. Israel
Germany designates entirety of Hezbollah a terrorist organization Germany previously only classified Hezbollah's military wing as terrorists. Israel hopes the rest of Europe will follow suit. Lebanon
Despite cafes opening, Gazans still reluctant to go out Gaza restaurants are reopening their doors weeks after the lockdown, amid a low turnout of citizens who are still afraid of the coronavirus. Palestine
Families of missing IDF soldiers call on government to push Hamas deal According to recent reports, Israel briefed the families of IDF soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul on advancement in talks over a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas. Palestine
Oman’s sovereign wealth fund under pressure Ahead of the prospect of a high budget deficit in 2020, assets held by the State General Reserve Fund (SGRF) plunged by about a third to $14.3 billion. Oman
Syrian Kurdish groups deny responsibility for bloody Afrin bombing A truck explosion led to more than 50 deaths Tuesday in Turkish-controlled Afrin, Syria. Syria
