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
Iraqi officials stress need to boost Arab ties while balancing relations with Iran Iraqi officials and their Arab counterparts at the 2019 Sulaimaniyah Forum called for turning toward other Arab states while balancing relations with Tehran. Saudi Arabia
Is Ankara’s religious education drive stumbling? Despite Ankara’s unrelenting drive to expand religious education, enrollment in religious schools has remained below the government’s targets. Turkey
Turkey’s WomanTV offers new voice on women’s issues A new TV station is taking on femicide, glass ceilings and violence, as well as sharing success stories of women in Turkey. Turkey
Did Iran ever stop funding Hamas? Iran has reportedly resumed its aid to the Palestinian Hamas movement, after years of estrangement over regional issues. Palestine
Women break their silence at Lebanon's monodrama festival The Lebanon International Women Monodrama Festival, which opens on International Women's Day, provides a platform for female voices to be heard without interruption or suppression. Lebanon
Gaza aid cannot wait while Israel holds elections On the backdrop of the growing crisis in the Gaza Strip, Israel, Qatar and Egypt are discussing the idea of humanitarian aid supplies financed by Qatar. Qatar
Is Israel headed for national unity government? According to current polls, neither Likud nor Blue and White alliance would be able to assemble a governing coalition after elections, raising a number of even more unlikely scenarios for doing so. Israel
Why is two-state solution absent from Blue and White party charter? The charter of the new Blue and White party veers to the right, thus offering Zionist left-wing Labor and Meretz parties an opportunity to reattract voters who support the two-state solution. Israel
Egypt’s first sovereign wealth fund to tap unused assets Egypt recently announced the establishment of a sovereign wealth fund aimed at managing the state’s unused assets to promote development and investment projects. Egypt
What was Hamas’ Haniyeh doing in Egypt for 25 days? Although Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh’s long visit to Egypt achieved positive results, including the release of four Hamas members abducted in 2015, many pending issues remain unresolved. Palestine
How did Lavrov do on his Gulf tour? During his tour of the Gulf, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov treaded carefully around politics, opting to speak publicly about a safer topic, economics. Legacy: Gulf
Turkish economy faces grim outlook for 2019 THE OECD forecasts that the Turkish economy, after contracting this year, should grow again next year; Erdogan goes after former presidential candidate Meral Aksener. Turkey
