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
Foreign Minister Netanyahu sidelines own ministry As reflected in his conduct, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sees himself as an airborne Foreign Ministry that does all the work and does not need hundreds of professionals working under him. Israel
Putin guides Erdogan along the Road to Damascus The Russian and Turkish presidents agree to rekindle 1998 Adana agreement. Syria
US-Gulf tensions mount over restrictions on Syria reconstruction Gulf states are seeking to become major economic players in post-war Syria, but US sanctions are causing some states to proceed with caution. United Arab Emirates
Hamas denies Arab media talk about new prisoner swap negotiations with Israel Qatar’s Al-Araby al-Jadeed reported that talks between Israel and Hamas were renewed through European intermediaries, but the Islamic movement’s spokesman denies it. Palestine
Erdogan-Putin summit highlights differences over Syria Ankara gets little out of Moscow regarding its plans for northern Syria. Syria
Turkey’s metal, building industries in coma Declining production in key industrial sectors is seen as an omen that the worst of Turkey’s economic crisis might still be to come. Turkey
Why Rouhani should think beyond price controls to contain inflation In Iran, the Rouhani administration’s tendency to turn to price controls to stave off inflation carries major long-term costs in exchange for only short-term benefits. Iran
Are men getting away with murder in Gaza? As more and more women die in Gaza in honor killings or in what are reported to be accidents, some are calling for tougher sanctions against the perpetrators. Palestine
Iraq activates Supreme Anti-Corruption Council In order to combat corruption, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi has restructured the Supreme Anti-Corruption Council established by his predecessor Haider al-Abadi. Iraq
Varying head counts of US forces in Iraq stir controversy It's hard to nail down how many US troops are in Iraq, but some Iraqi political factions say any number is too high. Iraq
Will the US renege on its promises to protect SDF in Syria? Turkey is pushing ahead with the idea of a safe zone along its border with Syria. Syria
Places of worship for Egyptian Copts closed after protests Sectarian-related acts of violence continue in Egypt, particularly in Minya governorate, with extremists causing security forces to close a place of worship for the Copts. Egypt
