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
Will Russia accept Turkey's proposal to split Syria's oil? Moscow weighs the pros and cons of a Turkish proposal on Syrian oil. Syria
Iran requests multibillion IMF loan as coronavirus cases reach 10,000 Iran has officially registered 10,000 cases of coronavirus, with the government requesting a multibillion-dollar emergency loan from the International Monetary Fund. Iran
Iran-backed militias in Iraq under fire after attack on base kills two Americans Iran-backed militias in Iraq are facing strong criticism from politicians and protesters after the attack on US troops at the Taji military base. Iraq
Intel: Pentagon says Iran-backed groups 'likely' behind deadly Iraq attack Rocket attacks that left one British and two American service members dead in Iraq March 11 were likely the work of Iranian-backed militias, the top US military commander in the Middle East told Congress today. Iraq
Israel’s Arab party’s new target: 20 Knesset seats Members of the Arab Joint List say that if another round of election is held, their party will only grow stronger. Israel
Iran pleads for medicine as it fights epidemic under sanctions Iran’s foreign minister has made a public plea for medical supplies and sanctions relief as the country struggles with the coronavirus explosion. Iran
Will Marib province survive Houthi offensive after fall of al-Jawf? An offensive on Marib province is looming but may not be imminent as analysts say they think Marib will likely remain in a state of ebb and flow following the battles in al-Jawf and Nihm. Saudi Arabia
Arab voters in Israel turn out in force, win new Knesset seats A united effort helped Arabs in Israel claim two more parliament seats that they hope will translate to a better quality of life. Palestine
Lebanon latest country to restrict travel over coronavirus fears Lebanon has banned flights to and from countries hardest hit by the coronavirus. Lebanon
Anti-war movement looks to take Trump to court to stop war with Iran Anti-war groups are lobbying Congress to take President Donald Trump to court on Iran war powers. Saudi Arabia
Multiple US troops dead in Iraq after rocket strike A rocket attack on a US base in Iraq killed two US service members and prompted questions of whether it was a retaliatory act by Iran. Iraq
Pakistan seeks to control spread of virus from Iran Pakistan kept its border open with Iran, a COVID-19 hotspot, perhaps longer than it should have and is now screening thousands of its citizens returning from pilgrimages for the new coronavirus. Iran
