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
More settlements, no peace Rampant settlement construction has got to stop for any Mideast peace plan to be feasible. Palestine
As hunger strike ends, Gaza arrangement proceeds Now that the Palestinian prisoners' hunger strike has ended, safely reelected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can move forward with an arrangement with Hamas. Palestine
Netanyahu’s anti-indictment plan pushed forward Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already secured a coalition that should get him safely through the following months of police investigations and possible indictment. Israel
Iranian comedian in hot water over flood jokes Comedian Mehran Modiri's mockery of government officials who have paid brief visits to Iran's flooded provinces has made him a government target, but he is likely to survive it. Iran
Labor chief will not resign despite electoral disaster Israel's Labor seniors are reeling as chairman Avi Gabbay refuses to take responsibility for the party's electoral defeat. Israel
Turks look to Trump for way around ‘S-400 or F-35’ ultimatum With Congress threatening sanctions if Turkey acquires the Russian S-400 and the Pentagon warning that Turkey could lock itself out of the F-35 fighter jet program, the Turkish president’s son-in-law took his case directly to President Donald Trump. Turkey
Erdogan claims Sudanese coup actually targeted Turkey Now that the Sudanese military has ousted the president who ruled there for three decades, it will be interesting to see how the new administration will approach Omar al-Bashir's longtime friend, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Legacy: Gulf
Iranian hard-liners leverage IRGC terrorist designation to kill FATF bills The US designation of the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization has empowered Iranian hard-liners seeking to halt the passage of bills that would have Iran meet international standards for combating money laundering and terrorism financing. United States
Hit movie pulled from Iran's theaters The Iranian authorities have banned a wildly popular satirical film that takes on rampant corruption and nepotism in the country. Iran
Iran FM holds Damascus meeting en route to Ankara Iran and Turkey’s foreign ministers will meet in Ankara tomorrow following the Iranian diplomat’s visit with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, raising speculation that he may be carrying messages from Damascus. Syria
University graduates swell Turkey’s army of jobless More than a fourth of Turkey’s 4.7 million unemployed are graduates of higher education — an alarming trend that reflects not only the country’s economic downturn, but its faltering university system. Turkey
