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
Locals lobby to keep their valley green in South Lebanon The residents of Wadi Zibqine struggle to keep a road from destroying one of the last green spots in South Lebanon. Lebanon
Will Netanyahu’s ultra-Orthodox allies jump ship? Days before his deadline for composing a majority coalition, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fears abandonment by ultra-Orthodox allies or a rebellion within the Likud. Israel
Rouhani calls US sanctions on Iran 'crime against humanity' Iran's president has slammed the US economic sanctions on food and medical supplies for Iran but promised that Tehran will defeat Washington in the "economic war." United States
Kurdish deal with Syrian regime against Turkey a boon for Iran As the Kurds sic Syria's army on Turkey, Iran offers to assume the high-profile role of mediator in the crisis. Syria
Iran, Saudi Arabia and the 'Trump variable' Relations between Saudi and Iranian leaders seem to sway precariously from week to week, propelled by a host of outside influences. Saudi Arabia
Some US forces to remain in northeastern Syria, SDF sources say Residual US forces will remain inside Syria despite President Donald Trump's Monday announcement that an estimated 1,000 US service members would be withdrawn from the Kurdish-controlled zone, Kurdish sources told Al-Monitor. Syria
Israeli municipalities take over governing vacuum On the backdrop of growing paralysis of the interim government, four municipalities initiate public transportation on the Sabbath. Israel
Why Iran's grand ayatollahs are fighting over Rumi Two grand Ayatollahs have declared their opposition to production of a movie about the celebrated poem Rumi and his friend and mentor Shams al-Tabrizi, but it is not clear whether they can stop it. Turkey
What's steering the PA ban of importing Israeli calves? Israeli farmers are growing increasingly anxious over a decision by the Palestinian Authority to ban the import of calves from Israel. Palestine
How Blue and White must challenge Netanyahu on democracy principles Yisrael Beitenu leader Avigdor Liberman has positioned himself as a man of principles, so it is high time that, with a bit of creativity, Blue and White reminded theirs and presented the Likud with a list of ideological demands, each based on broad public agreement and on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s declared positions. Israel
Palestinians take action to demarcate maritime borders Palestinian officials are discussing demarcating their maritime borders with the Arab League and the United Nations, threatening to resort to international courts should Israel refuse to cooperate. Palestine
Are Kurds underrepresented in the new Syrian constitutional committee? The Syrian national committee was announced by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and Kurds are not satisfied. Syria
