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
Immunity question places rule of law at heart of Israeli election campaign Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's quest for immunity from prosecution will dominate the upcoming election campaign, with rule of law at stake in Israel. Israel
Iran condemns US attack in Iraq The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has condemned the US attack on PMU forces in Iraq and said Iraq has a right to respond. Iraq
Istanbul’s mayor faces off with Erdogan over 'crazy' canal Ekrem Imamoglu, who wrested control of Turkey’s largest city from the ruling party in a contentious election this year, calls plans to build a waterway between Istanbul’s two seas a "disaster." Turkey
With Turkey preoccupied with Libya, Idlib slips through Ankara’s fingers While Turkey prepares to send troops to Libya, Russia's uncompromising attitude on Idlib signals that Ankara will not get what it wants in Syria. Syria
Could Turkey’s military capacity match Erdogan’s ambitions in Libya? Turkish military strategists have been working on a small, non-combat mission in Libya limited to train-and-equip purposes, yet recent developments suggest that Ankara could scale up the deployment plan amid lingering questions on whether the Turkish army is capable of delivering what Erdogan has promised his allies. Turkey
Instead of slandering it, Israel should join ICC Israel has a fairly easy option for dealing with the decision by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to probe suspicions of alleged Israeli war crimes: ratifying the court’s founding treaty and joining it as full-pledged member. Palestine
Netanyahu's strategy strengthens Hamas Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is following a dangerous strategy of advancing an arrangement with Hamas while weakening the Palestinian Authority. Palestine
Egypt reinstates Information Ministry in Cabinet reshuffle Egyptian member of parliament Osama Haikal will return as minister of state for information affairs after Egypt abolished the ministry in 2014. Egypt
PMU react angrily to US attack on Kataib Hezbollah facilities near Syrian border US strikes on Kataib Hezbollah near the Syrian border have sparked debate over whether the attack infringed on Iraq's sovereignty. Al-Monitor spoke to the PMU commander for western Anbar, where dozens of fighters officially under his command were killed. Iraq
Will Kurds find a ray of hope in 2020? Amid a staggering rise in the US dollar exchange rate and Turkey's control of Serekaniye and Kari Sapi, Kurds find it hard to feel the joy of this year’s Christmas and New Year’s festivities. Syria
Palestine's Christmas caravan lights up West Bank streets A yearly Christmas caravan that started in Bethlehem has brought some cheer to Palestinian children in several cities. Palestine
Nowhere else to flee: Why Idlib’s humanitarian crisis is so dangerous More than 235,000 people have fled Syria’s last opposition stronghold of Idlib as the Syrian government, backed by Russia, stepped up attacks against the city. Syria
