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
Netanyahu faces coalition tightrope Benjamin Netanyahu needs to form a coalition that will not harm his relationship with President Donald Trump, but also one that will protect him in case he is indicted. Palestine
Netanyahu needs to cut deal with Hamas now Since Avigdor Liberman won’t allow a Gaza arrangement on his watch, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu needs to wrap up a deal before offering Liberman the defense minister position. Palestine
Frustrated Democrats go on offense after Netanyahu win Democrats are racing to salvage the prospect of Palestinian statehood after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secured a fifth term with promises to annex the West Bank. Palestine
Powerful Iranian shrine endowment gets moderate custodianship The appointment of a moderate as custodian of the wealthy Astan Quds Razavi could be a boon to the Rouhani administration — but only if the powers of the hard-line Mashhad Friday prayer leader are curtailed. Iran
Intel: What ouster of Sudan’s Bashir means for Mideast leaders The ouster of Sudanese strongman Omar al-Bashir by the country’s military yesterday following months of unrest has received a mixed reception in the Arab world. Syria
Turkey exerts its own leverage in F-35 jet standoff with US The latest meeting between Russian and Turkish leaders in Moscow indicates Ankara is poised to escalate tensions by rebuffing US threats over F-35 jets. Turkey
IRGC terror designation: Trump's election gift to Netanyahu The US president's decision to designate Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization could allow Israel to better justify action against the group in Syria. Israel
Putin exploits crisis in US-Turkish relations The Russian president has suggested more defense cooperation with Turkey and says Turkey's president may be willing to coordinate with Syria's Bashar al-Assad. Syria
Human rights report traces Tunisia's bloody past, demands plan for justice Tunisia’s Truth and Dignity Commission has given the government one year to develop an action plan to create a truly just and free democratic state. Tunisia
Education and religion to fight IS mentality in Anbar At a college close to the Syrian-Iraqi border, surrounded by the harsh Anbari desert, many women with male relatives still missing have resumed their studies after the area was liberated from the Islamic State. Iraq
Jordanian parliament rejects raising early marriage age to 16 Jordan’s parliament voted against raising the minimum age of marriage in exceptional cases from 15 to 16, disappointing many women and human rights activists. Jordan
Why was Arab voter turnout so low in Israel’s elections? Palestinian voter turnout in Israeli elections is dropping, as is the number of Arab representatives in the Knesset. Palestine
