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
UAE reopens land, sea, air ports to Qatar following Gulf deal The announcement comes after Gulf leaders this week agreed to end their years-long embargo of Qatar. Saudi Arabia
Israel, UAE top Middle East vaccination rates Other countries in the region have only just recently imported vaccines, and the status of vaccination in Iran and Syria in particular is unclear. Gulf
Tehran reveals underground missile base near Persian Gulf Iran has announced it built a new subterranean missile base as tension between Washington and Tehran escalates. United States
Iran's supreme leader bans vaccines made in US, UK Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said he had "no confidence" in the American or British-made vaccinations. Iran
Why Erdogan needs to conquer Bogazici University Historical Bogazici University has long been an ivory tower out of the control of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his party. Turkey
Protests, info warfare continue in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor Inhabitants of Syria’s eastern Deir ez-Zor region, which has an Arab-majority but is under the control of the Kurdish-led SDF, have protested repeatedly in recent weeks against alleged arbitrary arrests, price gouging, and lack of services; many urge more direct contact between the local population and the international coalition. Syria
Islamic scholars, activists call for ban on British film about prophet’s daughter The film about Fatima al-Zahra, the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, has already been banned in Pakistan. Egypt
For Israel, Houthi threat a whole new ballgame Israel fears that Iran would encourage the Houthis in Yemen to attack the southern city of Eilat. Israel
Netanyahu's rivals liken him to Trump as world reels from Capitol riots Candidates to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warn that like his close ally the outgoing US president, he's capable of the kind of incitement that led to riots in the US capital. Israel
Egypt thaws relations with Qatar after long-running feud Egypt signed a reconciliation agreement with Qatar, along with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, aimed at ending the Gulf blockade imposed on Doha since 2017, but it seems pending issues remain, including the Muslim Brotherhood, preventing full restoration of ties between Cairo and Doha. Qatar
How Egypt plans to excavate antiquities submerged under Alexandria waters Alexandria University launched a new project to excavate and preserve underwater artifacts, in a bid to revive tourism and protect Egypt's underwater heritage. Egypt
Young Israeli singer wins over fans with Moroccan Arabic voice Israeli artist Ron Peretz embraces the Moroccan Arabic she learned at home in hip hop music that is conquering hearts in Israel and the Arab world. Israel
