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
Afcon soccer tourney gives Egypt chance for glory both on, off field Egypt is getting only a small amount of time to prepare for Afcon 2019, but the major soccer tournament could pay off big time. Egypt
Cairo museum displays Egypt’s ancient Coptic textiles The Egyptian Textile Museum’s latest exhibition, "God is Love," offers several rare early Coptic textiles just in time for Coptic Christmas. Egypt
Assad’s reconciliation with Arab world could upend Turkey’s plans As Arab states warm toward Syria, Ankara might end up facing an anti-Turkish Arab bloc that could complicate its planned operations in northern Syria. Syria
Najaf Shiites launch solidarity initiative with Sunni areas Religious figures from Najaf have developed an initiative for dialogue and cooperation with the Sunni provinces liberated from Islamic State. Iraq
Will nature reserves law finally see the light in Egypt? The Egyptian parliament is set to discuss and approve a draft law on the Economic Commission of Nature Reserves in a bid to encourage tourism and manage investments in such reserves. Egypt
Is Israel spying on its visitors? Foreign visitors attending conferences in Israel are being asked to complete a form accounting for their free time and the names and phone numbers of the people with whom they expect to have contact. Israel
Jerusalem tensions rise without security coordination The lack of coordination between Israelis and Palestinians at Al-Aqsa Mosque is threatening to dial up tensions at the disputed site. Palestine
Expect trade activity boost between Egypt, Gaza Strip Egypt and Hamas are exploring trade options, including a new border crossing, that would skirt Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Palestine
Israel’s nationality law takes over election campaign The courageous statement by former IDF Chief Benny Gantz about amending the nationality law brought the issue back to the public agenda and to the election campaign. Israel
Netanyahu’s bravado endangers Israel Ahead of the April elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has broken away from Israel’s traditional policy of ambiguity on military operations in neighboring countries, but his credit-taking could endanger Israeli lives. Israel
Pentagon warns Middle East turning to China for drone needs The Pentagon’s in-house intelligence agency says that China is cornering the market on armed drone sales to the Middle East as the United States is stifled by export rules. Legacy: Gulf
Turkey, US discuss Syria buffer zone as Manbij attack kills American troops Russia's foreign minister calls for Syrian control of areas after US withdrawal; IS suicide bomber kills 16 in Manbij; more worries expressed about election fairness in Turkey. Syria
