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
Erdogan still under fire in Iran despite Syria agreement While Iran's Foreign Ministry has welcomed the Russia-Turkey agreement on Syria, the Turkish president remains in hot water over the offensive he launched against Syrian Kurds. Syria
Why Israel should expand work permits for Palestinians In order to end the situation where Palestinians pay thousands of shekels to obtain work permits in an illegal manner, Israel should expand the number of permits and offer job seekers some hope. Palestine
Israeli-Arab lawmakers could bring an end to the Netanyahu era Recently elected lawmakers know their public won’t forgive them if they don’t put an end to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rule and its incitements. Israel
Hamas signals alarm on Israeli efforts to recruit collaborators Hamas has launched an awareness campaign against what it says are Israeli efforts to recruit Palestinians as spies through deceptive online contacts. Palestine
PA seeks to protect rights of Palestinians working in Israel The Palestinian government is taking measures to end permit brokerage, which can cost job seekers half their salaries to work in Israel. Palestine
Russian military faces tall order following Putin-Erdogan Syria deal The Putin-Erdogan deal has the Russian military facing a number of critical issues it may not be comfortable with. Syria
Abbas rival Dahlan seeks role in Palestinian elections The Democratic Reformist Current (DRC), headed by dismissed Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan, seems keen to take part in the Palestinian general elections, preferably on a unified Fatah list. United Arab Emirates
Egypt escalates campaign against Turkey's Erdogan Egypt is working to mobilize Arab states and the United Nations against Turkey's president over his foreign policies and criticism of the Egyptian government. Egypt
US faces new facts on the ground as cease-fire expires Russia and Turkey strike a deal on a safe zone as the Syrian Democratic Forces told the Donald Trump administration that Kurdish forces had withdrawn from the Turkish border today in accord with a US-brokered agreement. Iraq
Al Jazeera spends more than $500,000 defending itself against attacks The Qatari broadcaster is under attack from Doha’s Gulf rivals. Saudi Arabia
Turkey, Russia both claim win in Syria agreement Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seems to get what he wants regarding the Kurdish People's Protection Units, and Russia appears to gain yet more influence in Syria; has Idlib become a pawn in Turkish-Russian negotiations? Iraq
Syrian refugees arrested, face deportation from Egypt Syrian refugees, including women and children, are being detained by the Egyptian authorities under difficult conditions with constant threats of deportation, as some critics describe their treatment as a kind of torture. Egypt
