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
Bahraini crown prince, Israel’s Netanyahu discuss Iran nuclear deal The call between the Israeli and Bahraini leaders came as the Biden administration seeks to re-enter the Iranian nuclear agreement. Bahrain
Bernie Sanders criticizes Israel over vaccine situation in Palestinian territories The Israeli prime minister's son responded to Sanders on Twitter, saying Israel is not responsible for vaccinating Palestinians. The spat followed reports Israel is giving surplus vaccines to allies abroad. Israel
Saudi Arabia wants in on Nile dam dispute Saudi Arabia has stated its step into the deadlock between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia over Addis Ababa’s controversial dam on the Nile River, but just what Riyadh has new to offer is unclear. Saudi Arabia
How Egypt benefits from gas agreement with Israel Egypt and Israel agreed to establish a pipeline connecting Israel’s offshore Leviathan natural gas field to the liquified natural gas terminal in Egypt, a move that was hailed as a major step toward economic, political and security gains for Cairo. Egypt
Supporters hope jailed activist will benefit from Egypt-Palestine warming Egypt's increasingly harmonious ties with Palestinians are raising hopes that prominent activist Ramy Shaath will be removed from Egypt's terror list and released from prison. Palestine
Israel expanding decades-old secret nuclear site in Negev Desert: report The Dimona facility appears to be undergoing its largest construction in decades, but it's not clear why. Israel
Violent protests spread across Iran border province Chaos, tension and a widespread internet blackout were reported from Iran’s southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan three days after security forces killed a number of local fuel traders. Iran
Twitter removes more Iran-based accounts as part of investigation Twitter began removing the accounts in October when the FBI said the users were seeking to "disrupt the public conversation" surrounding the US presidential elections. Iran
Turkish-Iranian rivalry heats up over Mosul Turkey’s increasing focus on Iraq’s Sinjar region is linked to a broader rivalry with Iran for influence over Mosul. Turkey
With Turkey set to reopen schools, educators and health experts urge caution amid pandemic Turkey will resume widescale face-to-face education March 1 as some educators and health experts warn premature normalization measures could spur a rise in coronavirus cases. Turkey
Emirates to resume flights to Newark The resumption means the Dubai-based airline will soon have two flights to the New York City area as it continues to navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic. United Arab Emirates
The Israel-Russia-Syria deal: Cost, beneficiaries and future deals As Israel and Syria conclude a deal on the return of an Israeli woman from Syria, questions arise regarding the cost and what the future of such transactions with Russian mediation should be. Israel
