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
PMU decree unlikely to shift power balance in Iraq's Qaim As some Popular Mobilization Units prepare to comply with the prime minister’s recent decree incorporating them into other national security forces, the Shiite-led, non-local PMU seem to have the final say for now over who enters this Iraqi border city and who crosses into and out of Syria. Syria
Egypt takes another stab at reconciling Hamas, Fatah An Egyptian delegation has recently stepped up efforts to bring Fatah and Hamas closer, proposing a time line to advance rapprochement. Palestine
Civil society groups say Egypt's draft law falls short of real change Egypt’s parliament approved changes to a controversial law regulating the work of civil society organizations, but many of the groups are unimpressed and say the draft bill needs more work. Egypt
Cairo's long-awaited Naguib Mahfouz Museum disappoints It took Egypt 13 years to create a museum dedicated to literary giant Naguib Mahfouz and now that it has finally opened, many find it not worth the wait. Egypt
Former military officers jump into Tunisia’s political arena For the first time since Tunisia's independence, a political party founded by retired military officers will contest legislative elections. Tunisia
Why Trump’s embrace of Israel endangers it Three "American" chores await Israel’s next prime minister: explaining to President Donald Trump the importance of the two-state solution, regaining the trust of the Democrats and repairing ties with US Jewry. Israel
Intel: US drone shootdown sparks more Gulf tension US President Donald Trump said today that the United States destroyed an Iranian drone that came within 1,000 yards of an American vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. Defense officials told CNN the drone was brought down today by electronic jamming. Iraq
Republicans sour on two-state solution Republican opposition to a resolution endorsing a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict reflects the party’s drift away from a previously bipartisan pillar of US foreign policy. Palestine
Veil of mystery shrouds Turkish diplomat's murder in Erbil As Turkey buries its diplomat shot in Erbil, little information is emerging about the man Ankara's mourning as a martyr. Turkey
Netanyahu, Barak locked in dirtiest fight yet The upcoming Israeli elections are already reminiscent of 1999, when Ehud Barak and Benjamin Netanyahu first exchanged vitriolic rhetoric and outrageous accusations. Israel
Iran says seized tanker was smuggling oil Tensions in the Persian Gulf have increased once again after Iran claimed the ship it seized was smuggling oil. Iran
