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
Turkey steps up campaign against SDF's Kobane Syrian Democratic Forces commander Mazlum Kobane helped the United States track down and kill Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, but Turkey claims he is of the same ilk. Syria
Netanyahu’s opposition within the Likud While Likud leaders don’t dispute Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc policy, a rebellious group within the party has launched a broad campaign against the alliance with the right-ultra-Orthodox parties. Israel
Decision on unity government in Gantz’s hands Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz is himself holding talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and he will be the one to decide whether to strike a deal with the Likud. Israel
The administrative detention threatening Israel-Jordan ties As Israel and Jordan mark the 25th anniversary of their peace treaty, the highly complex and sensitive relationship is being strained further by the ongoing administrative detention of Heba al-Labadi. Palestine
US set for risky IS mission with leader’s death in Syria Saturday’s raid that took the life of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi offered a preview of what’s to come for the slimmed-down, US-led fight against IS, officials and experts say, which is now set to focus extensively on targeting the group’s leaders from larger US bases in Iraq and American units in Syria. Iraq
What takes Lebanese women to front line in protests? Since the start of Lebanon’s protests Oct. 17, women have been on the front lines acting as a buffer between protesters and security forces. Lebanon
Iran downplays significance of Baghdadi's death Iranian officials have shrugged off the news that the United States killed the Islamic State leader. Iraq
Basra Museum struggles to keep Iraq's heritage at home The Basra Museum displays around 2,200 objects from the Sumerian, Babylonian, Assyrian and Hellenistic eras — 100 of which were reportedly looted and returned to Iraq from Jordan and the United States. Iraq
New IS leader takes over following Baghdadi’s death A closer look at the Islamic State's first leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's chosen successor, Abdullah Qardash, offers some insight into what's next for the terror group. Iraq
Libyan parliamentarians meet in Cairo As the Berlin conference to resolve the Libyan crisis approaches, members of Libyan House of Representatives met in Cairo in an attempt to rally support for Field Marshal Khalifa Hifter. Egypt
US troops leaving Syria can't stay in Iraq, Baghdad says Despite Washington's willingness to keep its troops in Iraq after withdrawing them from Syria, Baghdad has told the United States to get them out in short order. Iraq
Kurdish leader's rising profile with US, Russia angers Turkey The Turkish government has kicked off a campaign to demonize Syrian Democratic Forces commander Mazlum Kobane after the latter's recent conversations with the US president and top Russian officials. Syria
