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
Justice Department ordered Turkish TV station to register as foreign agent The decision came amid an intensifying push by the Donald Trump administration and Congress to get foreign media outlets to register. Qatar
Doctors in northwest Syria brace for ‘devastating’ coronavirus Medical personnel in Syria contacted by Al-Monitor worry that Idlib's crippled health infrastructure will not be able to handle a coronavirus outbreak. Syria
Will Gantz jettison or legitimize Netanyahu's fear mongering? Blue and White leader Benny Gantz must decide whether to keep his promise not to enter a government with indicted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or capitulate to Netanyahu's campaign to delegitimize the Joint Lists duly elected representatives. Israel
How coronavirus outbreak has boosted Palestinian-Israeli cooperation While Palestinian-Israeli cooperation has been revved up to the highest level for some time due to the coronavirus outbreak, some problems persist. Palestine
Netanyahu’s target: to isolate coronavirus, Benny Gantz On the backdrop of internal party disagreements, Blue and White leader Benny Gantz must make a decision on whether to join a Netanyahu unity government. Israel
Iran releases jailed US Navy vet Michael White on medical furlough Iran has released US Navy veteran Michael R. White on medical furlough, the State Department announced today. US President Donald Trump asked Syria for the release of US journalist Austin Tice. United States
Is Turkey ready for social distancing? Turkey’s technological infrastructure is equipped to support the country through the pandemic, but the public lacks awareness of social distancing. Turkey
Iran medical council says coronavirus crisis still developing Iranian medical officials warn that COVID-19 could well plague the country for at least another two months. Iran
Israel’s top court weighs coronavirus surveillance technology Israel's High Court has held an emergency hearing on the government's use of cyber technologies to track carriers and suspected carriers of the novel coronavirus. Israel
Despite stimulus, Turkish economy faces grave coronavirus prognosis Economic analysts shared mixed reactions to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s stimulus package, with some saying it doesn’t go far enough. Turkey
Will Iran's economy collapse under coronavirus crisis? While the country’s economy will certainly take a massive hit by the ongoing pandemic, Iran has shown resilience toward such crises in the past. Iran
Why Ankara’s Syrian refugee threat has lost its impact The “refugee crisis” that Ankara triggered at the Greek border has come to an end, as it failed to create the desired impact on Europe. Syria
