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
New tourism: learning about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict An alternative tourism market, which offers tourists a chance to join Palestinians in an olive harvest or tour a refugee camp, has developed in Israel, so that tourists can experience the complex reality of this land. Palestine
What are real motives for PA government visit to Egypt? The visit of the Palestinian Ramallah government to Egypt on Oct. 7 raised questions about its motives, as Gazan political and economic analysts are not so convinced that its main focus is facilitating the lives of Gazans. Palestine
Why more Arab Israelis go to university In the past decade, Israel has seen a significant rise in the number of Israeli-Arab students, but high numbers of Israeli-Arab students have also quit university. Israel
Egypt's Ministry of Religious Endowments boosts its imams' media skills Media trainings aim to give Awqaf's imams better verbal skills — not only against extremist views but also against their rival Al-Azhar. Egypt
Lebanon protests also bring Syrians, Palestinians out onto the streets Many of the 1.5 million Syrians and 174,000 Palestinians in Lebanon are taking part in the recent protests. Lebanon
As Lebanese PM lays out reform package, protesters demand more Although the Lebanese government has unveiled a set of reforms to calm popular protests, it appears unlikely the proposal will satisfy demonstrators' demands. Lebanon
Trump hails Syria ‘breakthrough,’ lifts sanctions on Turkey President Donald Trump hailed an apparent Turkish decision to halt a military offensive in Syria as a major breakthrough and said now the United States was getting out. Syria
Trump administration scrambles to salvage US troop presence in Syria President Trump says he would leave some US troops in Syria to keep the Assad regime and Iranian forces away from oil fields; the Syrian Democratic Forces commander speaks with both Trump and the Russian army chief of staff. Iraq
Tunisia's 'poker face' president sworn in Tunisia's new president, whose stolid demeanor earned him the nickname "RoboCop," has vowed to combat corruption. Tunisia
Weakened US sanctions threat lingers in wake of Turkish deal with Russia Possible US sanctions on Turkey are looming as fighting subsides in northeast Syria and Kurdish forces draw back following an agreement between Ankara and Moscow. Syria
Following Trump’s lead, Putin gives Erdogan what he wants Even his greatest detractors in Turkey are complimenting Erdogan over winning US and Russian support against the Syrian Kurds. Syria
