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
The Takeaway: January 15, 2020 Highlights: ‘No Idlib for Idlib:’ endgame in Syria strands city; Muqtada Al-Sadr plays the angles; Soleimani’s daughter expects Hamas leader to avenge father’s death; Turkey takes up for Australian camels. Originals
Iran issues warnings after Europe triggers nuclear deal dispute mechanism A European decision to trigger a dispute mechanism in the Iran nuclear deal has been received with defiance, rage and threats in Tehran. United States
Court restores Turks' Wikipedia rights in censorship case The top Turkish court's decision that the three-year ban on Wikipedia violated freedom of expression should have gone into effect after its official publication made it binding on Wednesday, but the website is still inaccessible in Turkey. Turkey
Intel: How many US troops do 2020 Democrats want to keep in the Middle East? Democratic presidential hopefuls started Tuesday’s debate by slamming President Donald Trump’s Iran policy and articulating their own vision for the future US force posture in the Middle East. Iraq
Pentagon considering reinforcing missile defenses after Iranian strikes After Iran's Jan. 8 ballistic missile attacks on an Iraqi air base housing US forces, the Pentagon is now challenged with preventing a repeat occurrence. Saudi Arabia
Who gains if Trump publishes peace plan before Israeli election? While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may be pushing for the Trump administration to publish its "deal of the century" ahead of the March elections, the candidate who might gain the most from such a situation is Blue and White leader Benny Gantz. Palestine
Mergers, divisions change little in Israel’s political map Even after the parties submitted their Knesset lists for the March elections, there is no significant change in the breakdown of power between the two blocs. Israel
Rocket fire from Gaza threatens Israel-Hamas arrangement Although the party behind recent missile attacks remains unclear, Israel held Hamas at least partially responsible and directed its military retaliation at the Islamist group. Palestine
Turkey's YouTube gangsters hit mainstream box office The "Sifir Bir" series set in the southern city of Adana is essentially a constant shootout between dueling street gangs competing for turf, with a bit of the country's turbulent politics. Turkey
Don't believe media buzz about Arab buying spree in Turkey The Turkish press often trumpets enormous flows of Arab money into Turkey, but the data paint a different picture. Qatar
Christians in Iraq welcome 2020 with confidence and desire for change Iraqi Christians hope 2020 brings them more security and national acceptance and brings Iraq more unity and stability. Iraq
Iraqi PM urges Kurds to help rid Iraq of US troops Baghdad expects Iraqi Kurdistan to abide by its decision to remove foreign troops from the country, though Kurdish leaders say the US-led coalition is still helping to prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State. Iraq
