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
Israeli Arab voters desperate over rising crime, police attitudes Can Arab politician Mansour Abbas harness public anger against crime to the extent that his Raam party can pass the Knesset threshold and win four seats? Israel
Why is Syrian military deploying in Kurdish-held areas? The Syrian government seeks to strengthen its military presence in Ain Issa and the area overlooking the M4 international highway, which are under control of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. Syria
West Bank town renovates ancient palaces belonging to prominent family The municipality of the town of Arraba in the northern West Bank has been restoring the palaces of the Abd al-Hadi family, one of Palestine’s once most powerful and feudal families. Palestine
Palestinian Authority reimposes lockdowns amid lack of vaccines A year after the COVID-19 pandemic erupted in the Palestinian territories, the government reimposed total lockdown measures in several governorates in the West Bank amid the unprecedented rise in cases and deaths and the drained health care sector. Palestine
US hits Iranian officials with travel restriction over ‘gross human rights violations’ For the first time, the Biden administration targets alleged IRGC interrogators over inhumane detention of protesters. United States
Intel: US hinders Syria’s return ‘to normal,’ UAE foreign minister says Flanked by Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Abu Dhabi's top diplomat criticized the US-led campaign to economically isolate Syria under President Bashar al-Assad. United Arab Emirates
Iran's vaccine rollout marred by ‘favoritism’ While Iran’s Health Ministry had promised to keep everyone in the right queue for the coronavirus vaccination, there are media reports that the well-connected are taking their jabs and skipping the lines. Originals
Turkish journalist attacked after criticizing nationalist figure Turkish journalist Levent Gultekin was attacked by two dozen assailants outside his workplace Monday evening in the latest act of violence against critics of Turkey’s nationalist party. Turkey
US demands 'credible answers' from Iran on Robert Levinson's abduction The Biden administration pledged to hold Iran accountable for the former FBI agent's disappearance 14 years ago. Iran
Syria’s Armenian community resilient, but faces uncertain future Syrian Armenians, despite the fragility of their presence in the region, are determined to stay and rebuild. Syria
Would Israeli ultra-Orthodox bail on Netanyahu, Likud? Feeling betrayed by their own leadership on the handling of the coronavirus, young, modern ultra-Orthodox might shift their support to Bezalel Smotrich’s radical right-wing religious party. Israel
Pope speaks of interfaith tolerance from ancient city of Ur The ancient city is the birthplace of the father of the three major monotheistic religions, a fitting backdrop for an interfaith dialogue, Pope Francis said. Iraq
