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
Turkey grows erratic as clashes in Idlib escalate The Turkish government seems increasingly irrational as clashes intensify between Syrian government forces and Turkey-backed rebels in Idlib. Syria
Will ties with Iran change under Oman’s new sultan? A new sultan sitting on the throne in Muscat has sparked questions about the future of traditionally cordial ties Tehran held with the late peacemaker, Sultan Qaboos bin Said. Oman
Will Jewish left-wing voters support the Joint List in March? Meretz's alliance with Labor-Gesher has put ardent leftists in an ideological bind, leading some to conclude that the overwhelmingly Arab Joint List might attract some of their votes. Palestine
Netanyahu, Trump plant land mine within peace initiative The Blue and White party believes the land swap idea in the deal of the century is included in Donald Trump's peace plan for one reason: to trap Benny Gantz and create a rift between him and Israeli-Arab voters. Palestine
Iran kicks off parliamentary election campaign Campaigning for Iran’s parliament election has officially begun and will last only one week. Iran
Displaced yet again, Syrians flee Idlib for Manbij With intense shelling and catastrophic conditions in Idlib province, the Syrian Democratic Forces are welcoming refugees into areas they control to the east around Manbij. Syria
Will Hamas give up its weapons as part of peace deal? In the wake of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s call for Hamas to be disarmed, officials from the movement have rushed to react and roll out possible disarming scenarios. Palestine
Low chances of success for Abbas’ alternative to US peace plan Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas proposed his vision for a peace process with Israel as an alternative to the United States' deal of the century. Palestine
Raqqa seeks to repair what IS ruined The Religious Affairs Foundation in Raqqa held its first Islamic forum as part of efforts to correct the religious concepts that the Islamic State misinterpreted and practiced, in an attempt to bridge the gap that IS created among the Syrian communities. Syria
Controversial new law could make Iraq's early elections late Iraq's parliament passed a new elections law in December in response to massive protests, but the law hasn't been sent to the president for his approval. Iraq
Egypt treads cautiously in response to Trump's deal of the century Egypt is caught between a rock and a hard place in supporting Palestinians and not rejecting the US peace plan, being careful to sustain good ties with the United States. Palestine
How Houthi forces won key Yemeni district Houthi rebels take over Yemen's strategic Nahm district, defeating Yemeni government forces backed by the Saudi-led coalition. Saudi Arabia
