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
Major new discovery of mummies in Alexandria from Greco-Roman era During the discovery of 16 burial chambers in stone-carved tombs, the Egyptian-Dominican mission found several mummies, remnants of gilded cartonnage and tongue-shaped gold foil amulets. Egypt
Egypt opens 1st archaeological replicas factory to counter Chinese knockoffs Egypt will soon inaugurate the first archaeological replicas factory in Egypt and in the region as part of efforts to fight the spread of Chinese-made products in the local markets. Egypt
Islamic State continues to terrorize Raqqa Despite losing its last stronghold in eastern Syria in 2019 and the presence of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, the Islamic State continues to threaten the lives of citizens in Raqqa. Syria
Qatar eases salary crisis for Gaza’s civil servants Qatar has increased its aid package to the besieged enclave and getting involved in the file of the Palestinian prisoners detained in Saudi Arabia. Palestine
Is Hamas exploiting Libya chaos to smuggle arms into Gaza? The Times reported that a Hamas envoy to Libya has set up an arms-smuggling group to funnel weapons to the Gaza Strip, which was categorically denied by Hamas. Palestine
Israeli Labor sidelines veteran Arab activists Veteran Arab activists claim that for the new party Chairwoman Merav Michaeli their support is no longer a priority. Israel
The Takeaway: Killing of Turkish hostages by PKK tests fragile US-Turkey ties The Turkish president is expected to escalate military offensives in Syria, Iraq; Netanyahu will be his own Iran envoy; Al-Monitor reporting from Idlib and Gaza; and more. Originals
US citizen Bilal Abdul Kareem released from prison by HTS in Syria The American activist and self-styled journalist spent six months in the jihadist group's notorious prison system. Syria
Biden, Netanyahu hold 'friendly and warm' call Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the hourlong call discussed peace, Iran and other issues. Israel
Snow covers parts of the Middle East as winter storm rages on Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Jordan have all received several centimeters of snow. Syria
Dubai's Princess Latifa says she's being held hostage In a series of secret video recordings, Sheikha Latifa says she is worried about her safety and is being held in a villa "converted into a jail." Iran
