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
Biden calls Saudi king as US readies report on Khashoggi killing Reuters reports the US intelligence assessment concluded "the crown prince approved and likely ordered the murder of Khashoggi.” Saudi Arabia
Turkish government's fact-checking app brings concern, ridicule Turkey’s information tsar Fahrettin Altun’s announcement of a “next-generation application” to combat “false facts” raised fears of further control over social media. Turkey
Palestinians to lose only airport in Jerusalem to Israeli settlements Israel advances its measures to annex Jerusalem by implementing several settlement projects, including one on the site of Palestine’s old airport. Palestine
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham intensifies campaign against al-Qaeda affiliate in Idlib Hayat Tahrir al-Sham presses on with its campaign to weaken Hurras al-Din. Syria
Netanyahu's plan to donate vaccines to other countries suspended, awaits legal opinion Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had said this week that as a gesture of goodwill, Israel would donate vaccine doses to the Palestinian Authority and a number of other countries. Israel
Syrian opposition gears up for coronavirus vaccine drive The Syrian opposition's self-styled interim government is seeking to bring the coronavirus vaccine to a specific category of the population of northwestern Syria. Syria
Gaza launches vaccination drive amid low turnout The Palestinian Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, in cooperation with the World Health Organization and UNRWA, launched the first phase of coronavirus vaccination for the residents of the Gaza Strip after receiving 22,000 doses of vaccines from Russia and the United Arab Emirates. Palestine
Vaccine pass required to attend Israeli concert The Israeli government has launched a "Green Pass" program that allows vaccinated individuals to go to concerts, the gym, hotels and more. Israel
The Takeaway: US-Turkey strains worsening over Syrian Kurds amid fresh Erdogan complaints Turkish president questions US-Turkey NATO alliance, while Iran expands influence in eastern Syria; US still partner of choice for GCC countries, but China may be gaining; kingdom offers inducements to businesses; more! Turkey
In letter, king points to reduced intelligence agency role in Jordan's public life A letter sent by King Abdullah II to the head of the powerful General Intelligence Directorate Gen. Ahmad Husni on Feb. 17 is keeping the kingdom's political class guessing over what the letter really means. Jordan
Where is the money? Erdogan feels the heat over foreign reserves drain Turkey’s government goes on the defensive as the main opposition presses for answers on how the central bank ended up with negative reserves. Turkey
Biden's CIA nominee stresses China over Iran during Senate hearing Ambassador William Burns said that China is the biggest challenge for the United States, but that Iran and Russia cannot be overlooked. Regional
