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
Trump-connected lobbyist drops Turkish bank after indictment Halkbank had hired Brian Ballard’s firm in 2017. Turkey
Iran's Central Bank chief speaks out on currency plunge, $15 billion French credit line Iranian Central Bank governor Abdulnaser Hemmati speaks in-depth about the re-imposition of US sanctions on his country, the unprecedented plunge of the rial and more. Iran
Turkey’s military operation turning into diplomatic war As the military front becomes perceptibly static in Turkey’s Operation Peace Spring, the center of gravity shifts to diplomatic front, seemingly catching Ankara underprepared. Syria
Erdogan says he does not mind presence of Syrian troops as long as Kurds leave The Syrian Democratic Forces forged a deal with the Syrian government to hold off the Turkish attack in northern Syria. Syria
Will revival of joint technical committees help save the PA? With the reactivation of joint technical committees authorized by the Paris Protocol, the Palestinian Authority is hopeful about recovering monies owed it by Israel resulting from undisclosed tax withholding information and corruption. Palestine
Will re-pricing natural gas cast positive shadow over Egypt's industry? The Egyptian government recently decided to amend prices of natural gas used in industries, subject to changes depending on world market prices. Egypt
Egyptian engineer on death row in Saudi Arabia Egypt is appealing to the Saudi authorities to reconsider putting an Egyptian engineer to death, sending evidence that he was used to smuggle drugs and did not knowingly commit a crime. Saudi Arabia
Is US redesigning southern flank? Amid Turkey’s rapprochement with Russia, the United States has stepped up military cooperation with Greece, Turkey’s traditional regional rival, heralding shifts in geostrategic balances in the Balkans, the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean. Syria
Pentagon to stay in Islamic State fight from Iraq The Pentagon expects to fight the Islamic State from Iraq, a senior defense official said today, as American troops are set to leave northern Syria under pressure from a deepening Turkish offensive. Iraq
Putin goes for broke to negotiate Turkey cease-fire US withdrawal created some opportunites for Russia but also had it face new challenges with Turkey. Syria
Erdogan defies international outcry over Syria incursion Turkey has faced a barrage of recrimination for launching a military operation against Syrian Kurdish militants, but its president vows to maintain the “struggle for survival,” even as the death toll mounts and a humanitarian crisis looms. Syria
Majority of Iranians now want to quit nuclear deal A new poll shows that Iranian public support has decreased significantly for the JCPOA, and three-quarters of those polled indicate that they only support restarting negotiations with the United States if sanctions are lifted first. United States
