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
Islamic State in Iraq is not over yet Several terrorist attacks have occurred over the last several days across Iraq, raising concerns over a resurgence of the Islamic State. Iraq
Settlers target McDonald’s over what they call boycott of West Bank Israel no longer fears retaliating against international companies such as McDonald’s that settlers say are boycotting West Bank settlements by not opening up shop there. Palestine
Bleak Ramadan TV season depresses Egyptian viewers What is traditionally a light-hearted roster of Ramadan entertainment featured heavy themes of death, revenge and tragedy this year. Egypt
Will Hamas rockets upstage the Bahrain conference? On the backdrop of the upcoming economic conference in Bahrain and as arrangement with Israel is delayed, Hamas opts for more escalation. Palestine
Republicans rebuke Trump over Gulf arms sales Congress is going on offense against President Donald Trump’s use of emergency powers to arm Arab states. Saudi Arabia
Trump presses UAE on alleged human rights abuses in Yemen The Defense Department says in a new strategy that it has pressed the United Arab Emirates to investigate allegations of torture in Yemeni detention centers. Saudi Arabia
Libya extradites top terrorist to Egypt The Libyan National Army has handed convicted terrorist Hisham Ashmawi over to Egypt in what security officials call a major blow to terrorism in the region. Egypt
Scorn for US peace plan brings Hamas, Hezbollah closer Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah is calling for a Palestinian-Lebanese dialogue to counter the US peace plan, an approach welcomed by Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Palestine
Turkish diplomats swept up in wave of arrests report torture Evidence is piling up that many of the dozens of former Turkish diplomats recently rounded up and jailed were tortured, and the timing of the crackdown has raised speculation that the government is attempting to intimidate purged officials. Turkey
Is Russia replacing the US in the peace process? Russia is considering a draft convention exempting Palestinian diplomats from obtaining a Russian entry visa. Palestine
Khamenei sees 'ploy' in Trump outreach, says 'deal of century' will fail In three speeches in less than 24 hours, Iran's supreme leader launched fresh attacks against the Trump administration, slamming its "deal of the century" for the Middle East conflict and dismissing Washington’s latest outreach to Tehran as a "ploy." United States
Iran plays Pakistan, China against India as Modi turns to Trump India’s apparent decision to go along with the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran could negatively impact its relationship with Tehran, including in regard to the Chabahar port project. United States
