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’s Khamenei optimistic on coronavirus despite rising death toll Iran’s supreme leader is hopeful that his country will soon defeat the coronavirus epidemic that has now reached all provinces, killing nearly 80 people. Iran
Breakthrough on Syria refugee crisis unlikely as EU sends emissary to Ankara European-Turkish contacts are intensifying in an effort to stave off a disastrous refugee crisis on Turkey's border with Greece that could have repercussions across Europe. Syria
Intel: Congress tries to force Trump to declassify report on Khashoggi murder A bipartisan group of lawmakers is crying foul over the Donald Trump administration’s refusal to publicly disclose a list of every Saudi official complicit in the 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Saudi Arabia
Mountain couriers brave bullets along Iran-Iraq border As the economic crisis deepens in Iran, more people are risking their lives to earn money by transporting goods through the mountains of the Kurdistan region on the Iraq-Iran border. Iraq
Netanyahu king of 'the second Israel' For Israel’s poor, for the deprived and those outside of the elite circles, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is an authentic leader fighting their fight. Israel
Intel: Third time’s a charm as Netanyahu scores election win After three parliamentary elections within the span of a year, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will continue occupying his position for a further term. Israel
Power vacuum in Iraq leads to threats from pro-Iran faction Pro-Iran factions in Iraq worry that they could lose their political sway, having failed to keep one prime minister in power, then failing in their attempt to replace him, as they recognize the next candidate could be selected from outside their political circle with the support of Kurds, Sunnis and Shiite rivals. Iraq
Saudi travel ban slams Egypt's religious tourism industry Seeking to curb the rapidly spreading novel coronavirus, Saudi Arabia has temporarily suspended tourism to its holy sites to the detriment of Egypt's travel industry as the pilgrimage season approaches. Saudi Arabia
Was the military funeral for Mubarak legal? Egypt honored former President Mubarak with a military funeral, sparking controversy about the legality of such a funeral given that Mubarak was stripped of all military honors after his conviction. Egypt
Blue and White’s fatal mistake of distancing Arab voters The Blue and White party has failed in three elections, largely due to the false assumption that building bridges with the country’s Arab citizens would scare off voters from the soft right. Israel
Russia as mediator could change Israel, Hamas game rules Hamas does not want to distance Egypt as the chief mediator between the group and Israel, but it would like to add Russia to the equation. Palestine
Iran rallies religious leaders to expel US forces from Iraq While US policy takes its toll on Iran, the regime is seeking to increase pressure on Washington to exit the region, and particularly Iraq, by consolidating anti-American sentiment. Iraq
