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
Forget oil sanctions, end of nuclear cooperation waivers could quietly kill Iran deal While the United States' stepping up of oil sanctions has gotten more attention lately, a greater threat to the nuclear deal involves the waivers allowing cooperation with Iran on nonproliferation. United States
Iran leadership shrugs off US oil sanctions, pledges response Iran's supreme leader says the US plan to cap the flow of his country's oil will lead nowhere, pledging a "response to the US hostility." Saudi Arabia
Can Turkey avert military assault on Idlib? Damascus, Moscow and Tehran continue to exert pressure on Ankara to clear the region of jihadist elements. Syria
Zuwara’s Amazigh fear attacks on strategic border area The Amazigh population in the border city of Zuwar are bracing for attack by the Libyan National Army as leader Khalifa Hifter's Tripoli offensive continues. Libya
How will Israel's Blue and White party react to Trump’s plan? If the Blue and White party aspires to present a real alternative to the Netanyahu government, it must offer a courageous stance vis-a-vis the US Middle East peace plan. Palestine
Sinai magic draws Israelis despite the terror threats For Israelis, the magic of the Sinai Peninsula, with its beautiful sand beaches and low prices, is strong enough for them to ignore official travel warnings. Egypt
Abbas gets new government, but has anything changed? Hamas describes the new Fatah-dominated government as illegitimate and says it will only deepen the Palestinian division. Palestine
Human rights group documents Hamas abuses Arrests in the Gaza Strip point at Hamas' harsh treatment of protesters and its civil rights violations. Palestine
Israel’s United Right party not united at all Rabbi Rafi Peretz and Knesset member Bezalel Smotrich, leaders of the United Right party, are each pushing coalition negotiations in another direction. Israel
Egypt reiterates support for Hifter to protect border Libyan National Army commander Khalifa Hifter has recently visited Egypt to discuss the latest developments taking place in Libya, in what experts say reflects Egypt’s strategic support for Libya’s national army and its counterterrorism efforts. Egypt
Netanyahu gambles on Trump against Iran Israel supports the American intention of increasing sanctions against Iran, though pushing Iran against the wall could fire up the Hezbollah front against Israel in Syria. Palestine
2020 candidates line up behind Armenian genocide bill as US-Turkey relations plummet Strained relations between the NATO allies has given advocates hope the United States will finally call the Ottoman Empire’s mass slaughter of Christians in World War I a genocide. Turkey
