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
Rep. Gabbard and Syrian Kurdish leader make for odd State of the Union pair The 2020 presidential contender will be joined by a leader of the US-backed Syrian Kurds for President Trump’s big speech. Syria
Senate’s first anti-BDS bill faces uncertain future in House The Senate has passed its first bill clamping down on the pro-Palestinian boycott movement, but House Democrats aren’t committing to a floor vote. Palestine
Pentagon walks back Trump idea of using Iraq base to counter Iran US officials downplayed the role of US bases in Iraq to counter Iran after the president pledged to stay in the country to "watch" Tehran’s activities. Iraq
Erdogan: Turkey to expel Kurds from Manbij if no one else does Erdogan vows that Kurdish militia members will be removed from Manbij, one way or another; Greek prime minister visits Ankara; jailed CHP legislator ends hunger strike, but Kurdish woman continues hers despite being released. Syria
Why Europe just made Rouhani’s effort to exit FATF blacklist even harder The E3’s seeming tying of the launch of its new trade mechanism to Iran’s passing of controversial bills has energized hard-line calls for refusal to accede to the FATF’s action plan. Iran
Competition brings green to Beirut The “I Green Beirut” competition brought together designers, urban planners and artists to present ideas for transforming three areas around the city into new green spaces. Lebanon
Hard-liners force Iran's parliament speaker to abort speech Iran's parliament speaker Ali Larijani had to cancel a speech scheduled to mark the upcoming 40th anniversary of the country's Islamic Revolution after hard-liners mobilized a harsh unwelcome. Iran
Gaza students develop app to reduce travelers' health risks A new app, which won first place at the 2019 Arab Innovation Academy, helps travelers to identify diseases and health concerns around the world, and vaccines available. Palestine
Oil smugglers can count on corruption in Iraq More than a year after Mosul was liberated from the Islamic State, oil smuggling continues in the area. Iraq
Islamic Jihad, the new lord of Gaza? The Islamic Jihad has been making it clear to Hamas, Egypt and Israel that the rules of the game have changed in Gaza over the past few months. Palestine
