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
Islamic Jihad will boycott Palestinian elections The Islamic Jihad announced it will not participate in the upcoming elections under the political auspices of the Oslo Accord, claiming the decision has nothing to do with Iran. Palestine
Israeli mayor leads Haifa's charge against climate change Haifa Mayor Einat Kalisch-Rotem has put the challenges of climate change and sustainable development at the forefront of her agenda. Israel
Intel: US announces missile sale to Egypt after American activist’s relatives detained The Biden administration appears to be sending mixed signals to Cairo as it vows a firm stance on human rights abuses in the Middle East Egypt
New Zealand slams Australia for revoking citizenship of IS associate Turkish authorities detained a woman with dual Australia-New Zealand citizenship allegedly affiliated with the Islamic State. Syria
Egypt arrests relatives of American activist Mohamed Soltan The latest arrests come three months after Egypt released Soltan's cousins from arbitrary detention. Egypt
Iran begins joint naval exercise with Russia in Indian Ocean India will also join the defense maneuver, according to the Iranian navy. Originals
Turkish opposition blames Erdogan for Turks killed in Iraq Turkey's biggest opposition party has blamed the president for the deaths of 13 Turkish hostages in Iraqi Kurdistan over the weekend. Turkey
Iran denies involvement in Erbil rocket strike The Iranian Foreign Ministry said attempts to blame Tehran for the attack are "suspicious." Iraq
Dutch far-right politician under investigation for calling Turkish president a terrorist The controversial Geert Wilders has had spats with the Turkish government before amid wider crises between Turkey and the Netherlands. Turkey
Militia attacks on US forces in Erbil challenges Iraqi government A rocket attack on a US base in northern Iraq is putting pressure on the Iraqi government and challenging the Biden administration's policy in Iraq. Iraq
Inside Turkey’s raid on Iraqi cave where 13 captives were killed The aftershocks of Turkey’s controversial raid on a PKK base inside Iraq are likely to pose the first test to the Biden administration in its complex relations with Turkey and Iraq. Turkey
Iran reports growing infections from UK coronavirus variant A total of 17 cases attributed to the UK strain have been detected, mostly across Qazvin province, as other areas are also grappling with a new peak in overall COVID-19 infections and mortalities. Originals
