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
Did France end efforts for intra-Kurdish rapprochement in Syria? The Kurdistan Democratic Party announced the end of French efforts to achieve rapprochement on the Syrian Kurdish scene, blaming the Democratic Union Party for failing to meet their demands. Syria
Turks skeptical over accord with US for Syrian 'safe zone' Many Turks fear that Turkey will be left in the lurch again with the new safe-zone agreement, as it was with the Manbij road map. Syria
Families, rights groups demand answers about two more vanished Turks Following the sudden reappearance of four missing men at a Turkish detention site, human rights groups are calling for investigations into the whereabouts of two additional men who vanished in February. Turkey
Iran reaffirms support for Houthis as rift splits Saudi coalition Iran's supreme leader has called on Yemen's Houthi rebels to put up tougher resistance to what he deems a Saudi-Emirati conspiracy to partition the war-ravaged country. Saudi Arabia
Israelis captive of 'no partner for peace' concept Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is willing to meet directly with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for peace talks, but the Israeli leader keeps turning his back on him. Palestine
Egypt declares water emergency as precaution Egypt is cautious but optimistic on its water supply for the year, with strategies to address last year's drop in Nile River flow. Egypt
Intel: Why Republicans are coming under fire from Israeli right Right-wing members of Israel’s Knesset are unhappy with recent legislation backed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) because of language endorsing a two-state solution. Israel
Israel’s state watchdog stands guard for Netanyahu Instead of objectively evaluating the policies and ethics of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, new State Comptroller Matanyahu Engelman is protecting the premier’s interests. Israel
Tehran works to bring neighbors onboard against US maritime coalition Iran's president is intensely pursuing diplomacy with regional leaders to try to reverse US plans for an international maritime coalition in the Strait of Hormuz. Originals
What recent purges, promotions mean for Turkey's military This year's meeting of Turkey’s Higher Military Council to decide on promotions for generals and admirals provides some important clues about the direction of US-Turkish ties. Turkey
US-Turkey joint operations center buys time for Syria safe zone talks Following an agreement to establish a "peace corridor" in northeast Syria, American and Turkish officials are creating a joint command center to work out details and oversight protocols. Syria
Netanyahu plays the 'peace plan' card Israeli voters who still hold out hope for a plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should ask themselves whom they would like to see leading the negotiations. Palestine
