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
Iran hard-liners storm shrines closed due to coronavirus Groups of Iranian Shiite hard-liners briefly unsealed holy shrines in Qom and Mashhad in protest of the government's closure against the coronavirus epidemic. Iran
Intel: White Helmets chief urges humanitarian aid for Syria’s Idlib The head of Syria’s White Helmets rescue force has been making the rounds in Washington over the last week to spotlight the dire humanitarian crisis in Idlib. Syria
On near-national lockdown, Israelis ordered indoors unless ‘absolutely necessary’ Israel's new steps, which are aimed to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, include further restrictions on Palestinian day laborers entering Israel. Palestine
Jerusalem alliance fills gap in coronavirus awareness A group of Jerusalem-based activists launched an alliance to raise awareness and provide emergency needs to the Palestinian population in East Jerusalem amid the coronavirus outbreak. Palestine
Coronavirus cripples Egypt’s tourism industry Some analysts fear long-term effects on Egypt’s tourism sector from the coronavirus outbreak. Egypt
North Africa braces for coronavirus It remains unclear how the coronavirus outbreak will affect the economies and social fabric of North African countries. Algeria
Mission impossible 2.0: Idlib plan stumbles at outset The latest Russian-Turkish deal in Syria’s rebel bastion of Idlib is off to a shaky start amid threats by armed groups to respond violently to attempts to open the critical M4 highway. Syria
Banksy's hotel offers dark humor as Bethlehem becomes ghost town Bethlehem's Walled Off Hotel painted its facade black in protest of US President Donald Trump's peace plan, but the situation is even darker with the coronavirus alert in the city. Palestine
Israel tightens grip on Palestinian workers to limit COVID-19 The Israeli authorities have decided to prevent Palestinian construction workers who are crucial for the Israeli construction sector from commuting from and to the West Bank for fear that this could help spread the coronavirus in Israel. Palestine
Coronavirus spreads in Egypt, can authorities control it? Egypt announced a set of measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus as the number of infected cases rise across the country. Egypt
In Lebanon, the revolution will be televised Activists began broadcast testing for Assolta4 TV, an online channel dedicated to the ongoing protest movement against worsening living conditions and government mismanagement and corruption. Lebanon
Ennahda threatened with more resignations The resignation of prominent member of Ennahda Abdelhamid Jelassi has raised questions about the movement’s unity in Tunisia. Tunisia
