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
Trap facing Gantz: mustering a government while preparing for elections Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz is facing an impossible mission, where anything he says in the coalition talks might be held against him in a third election round. Israel
How Iran sees Russia-Turkey deal on northeastern Syria Iran's exclusion from the Turkey-Russia talks on northern Syria reflected its lack of leverage on the matter, but Tehran welcomed the agreement forged, especially its support for the Adana Agreement. Syria
Turkey resurrects deadly Article 301 against dissent Prosecutors have renewed their use of an infamous article of Turkish law to punish the "crime" of denigrating the Turkish nation. Turkey
A post-mortem of Turkey’s Operation Peace Spring Turkey had seven net gains and six net losses from its two-week Operation Peace Spring against the Syrian Kurdish groups. Syria
New park opens in Gaza near Israel border Palestinians recently inaugurated a new park at the site from which they had launched the Great Return March, establishing a human presence in a buffer zone that Israel has insisted remain clear. Palestine
Will Arabs work with Israel to fight violence in their villages? Israel's public security minister and the Arab Joint List agreed to work together to stop the spread of illegal weapons in Arab towns in Israel, but whether the community cooperates remains to be seen. Palestine
Gaziantep University opens facilities in Syrian opposition areas The Turkish Gaziantep University has opened three faculties in the opposition-held Aleppo countryside, giving students there an opportunity to earn a degree from an accredited university. Syria
At first ever summit, Russia aims to revive relations with Africa Egypt and Russia co-hosted the first Russia-African economic summit in Sochi, as Moscow seeks influence in the continent. Business
Palestinian National Library to collect Palestine's scattered archives Palestine's former minister of culture, Ihab Bseiso, is in charge of establishing a national library — a project that will require a lot of diplomacy and fundraising. Palestine
Is Iran expanding its influence in Iraq? Iran seems to have further expanded its influence in the Iraqi government; Tehran still, however, faces challenges in Iraqi governmental bodies that have remained independent of Iran. Iraq
Egypt plans to reinstate municipal oversight councils Parliament hopes to pass a bill yet this year to tackle corrupt municipal workers in Egypt, even as the federal government is cracking down on protesters who are trying to take on alleged malfeasance at the highest levels. Egypt
Many questions surround possible Palestinian elections Some Fatah members say President Mahmoud Abbas will be the party's sole candidate in the potential presidential election, though others may have their eyes on the office. Palestine
