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
Children no longer need to leave Gaza for cancer treatment Cancer patients welcome a new cancer ward in Gaza and hope it will ease the travel pains of hundreds of Palestinian child patients and their families. Palestine
Increase in Egyptian pound's value surprises Cairo currency traders A recent strengthening of the Egyptian pound against the US dollar is likely to be followed by a weakening of the pound in the coming months, experts say. Egypt
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham driving out activists from areas it controls in Syria Since defeating its military opponents in parts of Syria, extremist organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has been forcing influential individuals to leave as well. Syria
Israeli left-wing parties to unite or to sink By running on one ticket, the Labor and Meretz parties could guarantee their political survival and even constitute a significant political force. Israel
Can a centrist party win Israel's elections? Head of the newly founded Israel Resilience Benny Gantz claims that he is neither left nor right, but he'll have to divulge more of his diplomatic agenda to win the voters he needs. Israel
Netanyahu’s new anti-indictment weapon: his own TV channel Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit has apparently decided to convict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in two cases and must now decide about a third — all while facing an orchestrated campaign by Netanyahu against him. Israel
Conflict over Shiite and Sunni endowments erupts in Mosul Sunni Endowments in Mosul complain about Shiite domination over the Sunni religious sites in the city. Iraq
Riyadh woos Iraqis with security talks, economic projects Saudi Arabia is working to reconcile with Iraq to reduce Iranian influence in the country. Saudi Arabia
In Jerusalem, Israelis celebrate nostalgia for Egyptian film music Israelis, who have remained enthralled with the outpouring of emotion in Egyptian films for decades, rediscover their passion through a series of concerts at Jerusalem’s Museum for Islamic Art. Israel
Egypt parts ways with top lobbyist days after '60 Minutes' debacle Cairo and the Glover Park Group have ended a relationship that began after the 2013 coup. Egypt
European court offers little solace to victims of Turkish state violence The European Court of Human Rights has ruled the first of many cases filed on behalf of the 130 people killed in state-sponsored violence in Cizre inadmissible because the plaintiffs had not taken their case to Turkey’s Constitutional Court. Turkey
Israel factor complicates but won’t break Iran-Russia partnership in Syria There is speculation in the Persian-language media that Russia and Israel are collaborating against Iran and that Tehran is reconsidering its partnership with Moscow in Syria. Israel
