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
US report assesses Saudi crown prince 'approved' Khashoggi operation The four-page report based its conclusion, in part, off of "the Crown Prince's support for using violent measures to silence dissidents abroad." Originals
Iran warns it could halt IAEA cooperation after US criticism Tehran has threatened to call off a recent deal with the United Nations' atomic watchdog that allows for limited inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities. Iran
US condemns Iranian response to Baluchistan protests The southeastern province is experiencing angry protests after Iranian security forces shot dead fuel smugglers. Iran
Islamic State recruit Shamima Begum can’t return to UK, court rules Begum, whose British citizenship was revoked on national security grounds in 2019, is challenging the revocation from a displacement camp in Syria. Syria
Is Russia extorting SDF in northeast Syria? Russia is trying to extort the Syrian Democratic Forces in northeast Syria by threatening to retreat from its locations and leave the SDF at the mercy of the threats of the Turkish army and its allies, if the SDF does not respond to Russia’s demands and interests. Syria
Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army talks security with HTS in Idlib Sources in the Syrian opposition have revealed contacts between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and some of the Turkish-allied Free Syrian Army factions on security of the areas under the control of the FSA. Syria
Egypt backs Sudan’s new proposal on Nile River Dam Egypt announced its support for the Sudanese proposal to develop the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam negotiations mechanism, by forming an international quartet for mediation and that observers believe aims to pressure Ethiopia to make concessions in the negotiations and sign a binding agreement between the three parties. Egypt
Hamas holds internal elections ahead of Palestinian general elections Hamas held its internal leadership elections ahead of the Palestinian general elections to bring new blood into its organization. Palestine
Despite international support, obstacles threaten Palestinian elections The Palestinian legislative elections face disputes and hurdles that could prevent the vote from being held. Palestine
Benny Gantz fighting for his political life Although officers who served with Benny Gantz — currently Israel's defense minister — when he was the Israel Defense Forces chief of staff are urging him to drop out of the upcoming March elections, the head of the Blue and White party is not about to surrender. Israel
Massive oil spill blackens Israeli coast Though a gag order has been relaxed, little is known about the extent of the damage caused by a major oil spill to Israel's marine ecosystems and beaches. Israel
Biden approves airstrike on Iran-backed militias in Syria following Iraq attacks Officials suggested the late-night precision bombing was designed to minimize casualties while avoiding backlash from the Iraqi government. Iraq
![Iran's Atomic Energy Vice-President Ali Akbar Salehi, is seen speaking on a screen as he attends virtually the 64th General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at its headquarters in Vienna, Austria on September 21, 2020. (Photo by JOE KLAMAR / AFP) / The erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadata of this photo by JOE KLAMAR has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: [Ali Akbar Salehi] instead of [Zarif]. Please immediately remove the erroneous mention[s] from all](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2021/02/GettyImages-1228632114.jpg/GettyImages-1228632114.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=wuurG3fv)
