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
Lebanon's protesters occupy central Beirut road in display of unity Since anti-government demonstrations broke out in Lebanon two months ago, protesters have resorted to blocking the main roads and highways across the country, including the Ring Bridge, which connects East and West Beirut and which divided the capital between Muslims and Christians during the civil war. Lebanon
Targeting of US bases in Iraq a harsh Iranian message to Washington The rise of attacks against US military bases in Iraq in conjunction with the ongoing protests may be a warning message from Iran to Washington. Iraq
Syrians struggle to survive amid pound crisis The Syrian pound has significantly declined against the dollar, which has affected the purchasing power of citizens and led to many stores shutting their doors. Syria
Egypt reinforces security ahead of Christmas season The Egyptian army and police are out in force across the country to secure churches and mosques that have been targeted with violence in the past. Originals
Algeria: New president, old regime Protesters in Algeria rejected the presidential election and its victor, Abdelmadjid Tebboune. Algeria
Rumors, denials fly about long-term Israel-Gaza truce Just the suggestion that a long-term truce could be in the works between Israel and the Gaza Strip factions has Palestinians fired up. Palestine
Should Jewish refugees from Arab countries be compensated? An Israeli-government project estimates that Jews who fled Arab countries and immigrated to Israel left behind $150 billion in property, and the prime minister has been authorized by law to seek compensation for it in any peace deal. Iraq
Ahead of 2020 elections, ultra-Orthodox careful on conflicts The ultra-Orthodox leadership has so far kept silent over the fleet of minivans that has been plying the streets of the greater Tel Aviv metro area, providing public transportation on the Jewish Sabbath. Israel
Congress on verge of passing long-stalled Assad sanctions package Congress is on the brink of sanctioning Syria’s Bashar al-Assad government after three years of struggling to get the legislation approved. Syria
Intel: Why US is likely to raise concerns about China’s investment in Oman A Chinese state-owned company has inked a deal to take over nearly half of Oman’s power transmission firm, which is valued at $2 billion. Oman
Algerians skeptical of the military state’s new civilian figurehead The protest movement that took down Abdelaziz Bouteflika is keeping the pressure on his replacement, Abdelmadjid Tebboune. Algeria
Analyzing Iran’s new state budget Iran's state budget introduced no major structural changes, but it did improve transparency in some sectors. Iran
