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
UN says Libya arms embargo 'totally ineffective' A United Nations panel of experts accused several member states, including Turkey and Russia, of fueling the Libyan conflict. Libya
Syria reports new Israeli airstrikes near Damascus The missile strike follows Israel reportedly hitting Iranian targets in Syria earlier this month following an explosion on an Israeli ship in the gulf. Israel
Israel's foreign minister continues anti-ICC campaign in Russia In his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi presented his stand against the International Criminal Court probe, a renewed Iran deal and the Iranian presence in Syria. Israel
Netanyahu courts Arab voters as 'Abu Yair' Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has adopted a new strategy for the Arab public: cynically rebranding himself as "Abu Yair." Israel
Top general threatens Iran could ‘blow up’ Israel as rhetoric escalate In a new cycle of escalating rhetoric between Tehran and Tel Aviv, Iran’s top general said his country already has what it takes to destroy Israel. Israel
Intel: Saudi Arabia seeks Turkey’s drones, Erdogan says Riyadh's request could provide an opening for Ankara, which is also seeking to repair ties with Egypt. Saudi Arabia
Iran’s supreme leader authorized infowar campaign during US election Hezbollah and Russia also spread disinformation to try to influence the 2020 presidential election, a newly released US intelligence report says. Russia
Protesters in southern Yemen storm government building The protesters in Aden want public salaries to be paid. The area is controlled by the separatist Southern Transitional Council. Yemen
Turkey lifts veil on unemployment data, revealing bigger army of jobless A new, broader set of labor statistics has exposed a big gap between Turkey’s official unemployment rate and the actual joblessness in the crisis-hit country. Turkey
Turkey pursues normalization drive as COVID-19 case counts rise Turkish officials to maintain lighter COVID-19 restrictions through much of the country, as new infection numbers rise and vaccination campaigns continue. Turkey
Israel’s president in Europe, campaigns against Iranian threat, ICC probe President Reuven Rivlin arrived today in Germany, his first stop on a three-day European tour focused on the Iranian threat and the ICC probe of Israel. Israel
Dead Sea Scrolls unearthed by Israeli archaeologists in desert cave The Israeli project also discovered the remains of a mummified child and what's believed to be the world's oldest basket. Israel
