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
Under Biden, US-Turkey relations face delicate balancing act Analysts expect the Joe Biden administration to take a harder stance than the Trump administration did on diverging US-Turkey policies, while noting Washington will also need to take pains to avoid alienating the key NATO ally. Turkey
United Arab Emirates signs deal to buy F-35s, drones just before Biden sworn in President Joe Biden has suggested his administration might review or impose conditions on arms sales, but it is not yet clear he will oppose the deal. United Arab Emirates
Turkey faces alarming increase in public debt Turkey’s public debt has swelled more than 40% over a year, adding to economic risks despite a relative recovery in the second half of 2020. Turkey
Israel wrestles with allowing east Jerusalem Palestinians to vote in PA elections With a new US administration in place, Israel must decide whether to allow Palestinians in east Jerusalem to vote in the legislative and presidential Palestinian elections scheduled for spring and summer. Palestine
As Trump departs, Iran says 'ball in Washington’s court' to reinstate nuclear deal President Hassan Rouhani appeared more upbeat on the prospects of the Iran nuclear deal on the day that Donald Trump departed from the White House. United States
Iraqi parties scramble ahead of new October election date The High Electoral Commission’s need for additional time to update constituents' records requires that the government postpone early elections until October, while political parties publicly oppose the new date and secretly support it. Iraq
Iraq approves Paris climate accord in step toward curtailing oil dependence Iraq faces significant hurdles in transitioning to an economy without oil dependence, and future trends can be expected to exacerbate those challenges. Iraq
Is Erdogan’s anger sign of early elections? While trying to mend bridges in international affairs and form new alliances domestically, Erdogan targets 50% of Turkey’s residents with anger, but why? Turkey
Is Egypt behind Sudanese escalation on border with Ethiopia? With the intensifying border conflict between Sudan and Ethiopia and the success of the Sudanese army in controlling the border areas where Ethiopian farmers have been living for decades, Ethiopia has been hurling accusations of a third party planning, funding and executing the recent confrontations on the border between the two countries. Egypt
Israeli settlers threaten Palestinian archaeology in historic town of Sebastia The ancient town of Sebastia northwest of Nablus in the West Bank remains a target of continuous attacks by the Israeli army and settlers. Palestine
Egypt, Turkey compete for influence in Ghana Egypt is seeking to bypass Turkey in Ghana by strengthening relations and cooperation agreements in several fields with the West African country. Egypt
Legacy of Egyptian revolution? Crackdown on dissent It has been 10 years since the 2011 revolution brought down the Mubarak regime, but the pro-democracy activists who led the uprising say repressive policies remain in place and have escalated further under current President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Egypt
