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
How Turkey's soldiers and spies saved the day in Syria Turkey’s diplomatic position in Syria remains untenable, but its armed forces and spy agency did a pretty good job last week. Syria
Can Sochi 2.0 save the day in Idlib? The fragile cease-fire that took effect in Syria's rebel-held province of Idlib on March 6 under a fresh deal between Turkey and Russia might prove short-lived amid a series of uncertainties on key points of contention. Syria
Iraqi female activists launch women's magazine in Ninevah Plains Woman of Ninevah, a magazine that aims to give voice to women in the region, was launched on March 8, on International Women's Day. Iraq
UAE offers regional road map to deal with Iran Policies on coronavirus, nuclear issues may help recast regional security discussions, complement US policies. Saudi Arabia
Intel: Suicide bombing strikes near US Embassy in Tunisia Two suicide bombers on a motorcycle blow themselves up near the US Embassy in Tunis, killing a police officer. Tunisia
Why wasn't Hamas part of the recent confrontation round? While Hamas stayed away from the confrontation rounds against Israel, some observers believe that Hamas is not preventing the factions from getting involved in these confrontations out of fear of losing Iranian funding and because it refuses to engage in a conflict against the factions. Palestine
Iraqi protesters stand firm, say corruption worse than coronavirus Many Iraqi protesters have chosen to continue their demonstrations despite the rapid spread of the virus, saying the country's political crisis is more dangerous than the disease. Iraq
Erdogan’s dance with Putin: Humiliating, but face-saving The facts on the ground achieved by the Russian-backed Syrian regime on the battlefield in northern Syria were imposed upon Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Syria
Coronavirus oblivious to Israeli, Palestinian borders The necessity of cooperating against the novel coronavirus should encourage Israeli and Palestinian authorities to also work together on day-to-day issues, such as water and air pollution. Palestine
Will Israeli Arabs facilitate the ‘Netanyahu-removal government’? Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears to believe that it is not a problem for Arab citizens to vote as long as they cast their ballots for the Likud, otherwise they should not have a voice in their governance. Israel
Israel’s Arab party facing a dilemma The Balad party is not interested in supporting a Gantz-led government, but it knows that voters of the Arab Joint List do not want another Netanyahu-led government, either. Israel
What was Hamas leader doing in Moscow? Ismail Haniyeh eyes Russia as a “brotherly nation” and expects Moscow to help reconcile the Palestinians. Palestine
