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
Rep. Elissa Slotkin praises Iraq protests, warns against Iran missiles at Al-Monitor breakfast Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., discussed Iraq and Syria at Al-Monitor’s Middle East Mornings breakfast. Iraq
Liberman, Lapid miscalculate about Likud rebellion Both Yisrael Beitenu leader Avigdor Liberman and Blue and White co-leader Yair Lapid mistakenly assumed that some Likud members would break ranks and join a Gantz-led unity coalition. Israel
New scandals pour more fuel on Iraq protests The popular protests in Iraq are still spreading, putting the government into even more of a corner. Iraq
Some Hamas members in West Bank fret over elections Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip and West Bank express contrasting positions about participating in the Palestinian elections in light of the hard security conditions Hamas members are subjected to in the West Bank. Palestine
Protests bring people from all classes to posh Beirut Downtown Since protests broke out across the country, people from all social classes have gathered in downtown Beirut, which previously had become the domain of the city's upper crust. Lebanon
Fatah, Hamas fight over Turkey Both Hamas and Fatah are intensifying contacts with Turkey, in tandem with the preparation for Palestinian elections. Palestine
US says Israeli settlements not necessarily illegal A US shift on settlements comes after European court decision on labeling settlement products. Palestine
Djerejian: In addressing uprisings in Middle East, first 'do no harm' Former US diplomat Edward Djerejian also sees opportunity for US diplomacy in Gulf crisis. Saudi Arabia
Netanyahu’s yes-men get ministerial portfolios Obviously, the criteria for being appointed new minister in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s caretaker government is not competencies but loyalty to the chief. Israel
Turkey remains determined to keep Russian missiles After last week’s meeting between the US and Turkish presidents, some in Washington seem hopeful Turkey won't activate its Russian-made S-400 missile system, but Ankara insists Turkey didn’t buy the $2 billion weapons system to mothball it. Turkey
Israeli politicians prefer chaos over Jewish-Arab partnership Most Israeli Arabs aspire to integrate into the general society, but the country’s political leadership is engaged in a hate campaign against them. Israel
Turkey's defense industry sees rise of 'the president’s men' Decision-making power in Turkey's defense industry is shifting from the military to businessmen close to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Qatar
