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
Quran manuscript a 'blessing' for an Iranian Kurdish village A centuries-old manuscript of the Quran continues to play a central role in the identity of residents of an Iranian village. Iran
Southern Turkish city defiant over its raki and kebab Although Adana province banned a raki festival for reasons of safety, locals rushed to the bars to celebrate their culture of raki — accompanied by turnip juice — and kebab. Turkey
Are Russia and Turkey in tug of war over Libya? Libya has emerged as a contested issue between Russia and Turkey. Turkey
Iraq's Ninevah province turns back on Shiite forces The Ninevah provincial council has voted to replace a governor who was close to Iran-backed forces with a military man who is close to the United States. Iraq
Netanyahu’s plan for winning an outright majority in the Knesset If he wants his right-wing ultra-Orthodox bloc to win 61 seats so he can form an immunity coalition, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will need Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked to run as part of the New Right list and pass the electoral threshold. Israel
Intel: Pentagon worried Turkey ‘spinning out’ of NATO orbit Defense Secretary Mark Esper told an audience at a New York think tank he was worried that Turkey is “spinning out” of the NATO orbit. Turkey
White House provides lifeline to US ties with Turkey and Saudi Arabia Turkish and Saudi leaders look to Trump to prevent relations with the United States from going bad to worse. Saudi Arabia
Israel’s love of Kurds weaponized by their foes Israel's support of Kurdish autonomy in Syria is not always welcomed — at least publicly — by Syria's Kurds. Israel
Intel: Lebanon aid wrangling exposes divide in Trump administration The US Treasury Department today sanctioned one Democratic Republic of Congo-based and two Lebanon-based individuals accused of financing Hezbollah: Saleh Assi, Nazem Said Ahmad and Tony Saab. Lebanon
The ultra-Orthodox dilemma on slamming Liberman Ultra-Orthodox politicians fear that any attacks against Yisrael Beitenu leader Avigdor Liberman would actually reinforce him within secular electorate. Israel
2020 elections: Israeli-Arab party aspires to 15 seats Arab Joint List Knesset members are in an excellent mood: They believe that grassroots campaigning could garner them 15 seats in the upcoming March elections. Israel
France to support Palestinian agriculture in West Bank areas under Israeli control The Palestinian government and the French Development Agency signed agreements that will support the development of agriculture and water networks in Area C. Palestine
