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 this Palestinian initiative helps women deal with their scars Alorkedea, an initiative in Gaza, provides psychological support, health tips and networking opportunities for women with physical disfigurations. Palestine
Teacher translates Quran to save endangered Kurdish dialect The Kurdish dialect of Hawrami is on the path to extinction, according to UNESCO. Iraqi-Kurdistan
Intel: Why Russia’s warming ties with Israel may lead Moscow to embrace Trump’s peace plan Russian President Vladimir Putin pardoned a young Israeli accused of drug charges ahead of his meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today. The release of Naama Issachar, who had been sentenced to 7½ years in prison, ends a bitter controversy that had plagued relations between the two countries. Palestine
The Takeaway: January 29, 2020 Egypt is key to fate of Trump peace plan, but Hamas is a spoiler; Cairo’s quiet streets on revolution anniversary; Iran’s Guardian Council purges Reformist candidates Originals
Iran slams Trump’s vision for Mideast peace The Islamic Republic is fiercely opposed to Trump's "deal of the century," stating that Muslims will never allow it to happen. Palestine
Erdogan slams Russia as regime offensive sends Idlib residents fleeing for Turkey Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Moscow is not upholding the Astana and Sochi cease-fire agreements after Syrian regime forces retook a key city in Idlib Wednesday, sending a new wave of displaced civilians toward the Turkish border. Syria
Intel: Pro-Israel super PAC attacks Sanders with $700,000 Iowa ad buy A pro-Israel super PAC has launched a $700,000 television ad campaign targeting presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., as he rises in the polls in the crucial days before the Iowa caucuses next week. Israel
Intel: Erdogan abandons balancing act in Syria, targets Russia Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized Russia directly for the first time in a long while in the wake of the recent escalation in northwestern Syria. Syria
Trump’s ‘deal of the century’ fails to resonate among Egyptians While the Egyptian government treaded cautiously in its response to the rollout of the US administration’s long-awaited peace deal, expressing Cairo’s “appreciation” of US efforts, analysts and the public widely condemned the plan. Palestine
Trump’s plan revokes Israeli Arabs' citizenship The authors of the Trump-Netanyahu peace plan bothered to ask Israeli Arabs whether they wanted to become Palestinian nationals, but the deal nonetheless strips them of their Israeli citizenship and in the process would split families and help perpetuate right-wing rule. Palestine
Trump’s Israeli-US deal is not a peace plan Donald Trump's 'deal of the century' may have started out as a peace plan, but his administration's conflict with the Palestinian leadership turned it into a plan to give Israel the green light to annex one-third of the West Bank. Palestine
Trump’s peace plan: platform for Israeli unity government? The peace plan presented by US President Donald Trump could serve as a platform and incentive for Blue and White leader Benny Gantz to accept the formation of a unity government with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Palestine
