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
As pound improves, Egypt floats customs dollar rate The Egyptian Ministry of Finance recently floated the customs dollar rate, after having imposed a fixed rate in 2017 in an attempt to contain prices after floating the pound. Egypt
New pipeline in works to transport Iraqi oil to Turkey Iraq and Turkey are building a brand-new pipeline that will transfer Kirkuk oil to Turkey and tie into Iraq's existing pipeline network. Iraq
Regional, international actors risk making matters worse in Iraq's Sinjar The conflict over controlling the strategic area of Sinjar along Iraq's borders with Turkey and Syria has made the Yazidis' situation worse. Iraq
Palestinians preparing for their day in court against Israel The Palestinian leadership is preparing briefs to present to the International Court of Arbitration in The Hague to address Israeli violations of the Paris Protocol, which governs their economic and trade relations. Palestine
Investors, economists see Egypt’s new mining law as promising Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi approved a new law on mining that would help promote the mineral sector by attracting foreign investors and regularizing the industry. Egypt
Will Jordan yield to teachers’ salary demands? The Jordanian government arrested members of the Jordanian Teachers' Syndicate following a protest for higher wages in front of government headquarters in Amman. Jordan
Corruption, partisan investigations mire electoral process in Tunisia The electoral campaign in Tunisia has been marred by serious accusations and arrests. Tunisia
Gaza rockets embarrass Netanyahu, Hamas leadership The Israeli security system has come to the conclusion that the escalation of the past few days on the Gaza border means one thing: It is now the Hamas military wing that is calling the shots, not the Hamas political leadership. Palestine
Netanyahu paves way of radical-right party to enter Knesset By choosing to help Otzma Yehudit pass the voter threshold, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has paved the way for the party to enter the Knesset. Israel
For Netanyahu, all is fair in elections Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu advanced the Camera Bill not solely to reduce the number of Arab voters, but to gain the support of radical-right voters. Israel
Netanyahu wants chaos in Arab polling stations By advancing the Camera Bill and releasing statements, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to spread the belief that the Arab population will attempt to "steal the elections." Israel
Likud offers vegans a new political home Tal Gilboa, one of the most famous vegan activists in Israel, says only Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “takes account” of animals. Israel
