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 Egypt reacted to Ethiopia's move on Red Sea Egyptians are growing concerned over Ethiopia’s establishment of a naval base on the Red Sea, which they see as a pressure card on Cairo regarding negotiations on the Renaissance Dam Addis Ababa is building on the Nile. Egypt
Palestine seeks economic relations with Oman A Palestinian ministerial delegation is preparing to visit Oman early next year as part of efforts to sever economic ties with Israel, but some analysts wonder what benefits are to be gained by either party. Oman
Congress sides with Cyprus against Turkey as eastern Mediterranean heats up Congress just passed two bills siding with Cyprus in its territorial and natural gas dispute with Turkey. Turkey
Russia exits nuclear conversion project, but stands by Iran Russia has halted its conversion operations at Iran's Fordow nuclear facility, but this doesn't signal a crack in Moscow-Tehran relations. Russia
Intel: Pentagon renews calls for US allies to join Syria fight Defense Secretary Mark Esper told reporters traveling in Europe on Monday that the United States needs to continue to grow the 81-nation counter-Islamic State coalition in Syria to ensure the defeat of the militant group. Syria
Mideast rivalries plague fledgling Muslim summit in Malaysia Tensions between Riyadh and Tehran are dogging a summit set to debut this week in Kuala Lumpur. Saudi Arabia
Rouhani heads to Japan as Abe seeks US-Iran deal Iran's president has embarked on a trip that will take him to Japan, a host that has been scrambling to mediate some Tehran-Washington rapprochement at a critical time for the Iranian economy. United States
Erdogan renews call for ‘safe zone’ support as Syrians return Turkey says that Syrian refugees are moving to an area under its control in northeast Syria, two months after capturing the strip of territory from Syrian Kurdish fighters. Syria
Turkey’s energy miscalculations have hefty cost More than a third of Turkey’s installed power capacity remains idle after an ill-calculated rush for energy that has had a hefty financial and environmental cost. Turkey
Intel: Trump administration distances itself from Congress’ recognition of Armenian genocide The State Department is distancing itself from Congress’ vote to recognize the Ottoman Empire’s massacre of more than a million, mostly Christian Armenians as a genocide. Turkey
IDF stands ground against reducing world's longest military service Legislation passed in 2015 reduced Israel's military service to two and a half years for men, but like several previous efforts, the military is trying to block it. Israel
Blue and White's nightmare scenario: Saar defeating Netanyahu The Blue and White party needs Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a rival, or else it would loose its energy. Israel
