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
Pentagon sends aircraft carrier Nimitz home from Middle East The USS Nimitz spent more than 270 days at sea conducting exercises with the Indian navy and seeking to deter Iran from retaliating for last year's killing of Qasem Soleimani. Gulf
Turkish police clash with students as Bogazici protests near one-month mark Turkish police cracked down on protests in Istanbul and Ankara, as demonstrations continued over the controversial appointment of a government-linked rector to head one of Turkey’s top universities. Turkey
Qatar announces new aid grant to Palestinians in Gaza New assistance will help with electricity and alleviating poverty and will be delivered with Israeli coordination. Originals
UAE ambassador confident US F-35 deal will be fulfilled "You can't … take tools away from your partners who are expected to do more," Ambassador Yousef al-Otaiba said Monday. United Arab Emirates
US-backed Syrian Kurdish unity talks to resume amid mounting distrust Although talks are set to resume this week, the prospects of a Syrian Kurdish unity deal seem more elusive than ever, with plenty of sticking points threatening to sink the effort. Syria
Youth unemployment reaches alarming level in Turkey The unemployment rate among young people in Turkey is estimated to have reached about 40%, experts say, warning of social unrest and political repercussions. Turkey
Twitter adds warning label to Turkish minister's anti-LGBT tweet Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu's tweet accused "LGBT perverts" protesting in Istanbul of disrespecting Islam. Turkey
Iran says crew of seized South Korean ship free to leave Tehran says it made a "humanitarian decision" to release the sailors aboard a Korean ship it seized in the Persian Gulf, though the Hankuk Chemi will remain in Iran as an investigation and talks over oil funds withheld by Seoul continue. Iran
Tehran to begin vaccinations as Iran remains divided over Russian shot Iran’s president is hopeful that his country’s vaccination drive will kick off in the coming weeks despite growing criticism from the Iranian medical community against the Russian vaccine. Iran
Israel predicts 6-month nuclear breakout time for Iran Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said Iran is close to amassing the fissile material needed to build a nuclear weapon, but it would be a year or two before it could produce a nuclear weapon. Israel
Netanyahu’s diplomatic blitz now victim of the coronavirus The continuing coronavirus pandemic puts a damper on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s diplomatic achievements. Israel
Four Netanyahu antagonists could join forces against him Four main rivals of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — Yair Lapid, Gideon Saar, Avigdor Liberman and Naftali Bennett — could join forces after the March elections to establish a government without him. Israel
