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
Intel: Democrats wade into legal gray area with Iran war powers vote The House passed a resolution 224-194 seeking to limit President Donald Trump’s ability to conduct future offensive military actions against Iran. United States
Killers target activists performing logistics for Iraqi protests Iraqi protester activists — and journalists covering the protests — are being killed in greater numbers by unidentified armed groups in an apparent attempt to curtail the demonstrations. Iraq
Can Israel, Hamas keep it calm after US killing of Soleimani? For Israel, the return of deterrence is tainted with the possibility of a nightmare scenario. Palestine
Intel: How Russia is helping Iraq build up its air defenses amid US-Iran escalation Following the latest hostilities between the United States and Iran inside Iraq, Baghdad has reportedly resumed negotiations with Moscow over reinforcing its air defenses. Iraq
Rouhani adviser says US claims on plane crash ‘media war' Iranian officials claim they are working with Ukrainian authorities to investigate the plane crash in Tehran but claim US accusations that they shot the plane down themselves is a “media war.” United States
Iraqi protesters decry Iranian and US interference Over three months since anti-government protests began in Iraq, attention has shifted to geopolitical fears of regional war. Iraq
Russian Jews not Jewish enough for Israel's chief rabbi In maligning immigrants from the former Soviet Union, Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef ignores that contrary to his ultra-Orthodox congregants, they contribute to Israel's economy and risk their lives serving in the military. Israel
Israel’s Meretz party giving up on Arabs Despite the support it gained in the September elections within the Israeli-Arab communities, the Meretz party list will not include an Arab candidate in a realistic slot. Israel
Trump's threat to Iran's antiquities sets off global uproar With 24 recognized sites, Iran is most heavily represented Middle Eastern country on UNESCO's list of world heritage sites. United States
Erdogan's ties with Turkish army gets alarmingly personal The extraordinary personalization of Turkey’s civilian-military relations is deinstitutionalizing the Turkish military structure and causing internal power struggles within the army ranks. Turkey
Will Carlos Ghosn be safe from prosecution in Lebanon? Lebanese businessman Carlos Ghosn escaped from house arrest in Tokyo and headed to Lebanon, where the judiciary is now weighing whether his past visit to Israel could be considered an act of normalization. Lebanon
Will Egyptians benefit from latest fuel price move? Egypt’s Follow-up Committee for the Automatic Pricing Mechanism for Petroleum Products recently issued its quarterly decision on the trajectory of domestic fuel prices. Egypt
