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
Iran uses domestically made drones in large military exercise Iran's military training and exercises regularly focus on potential conflict with the United States. Iran
Qatar, Gulf states ink 'solidarity and stability' deal in Saudi Arabia The agreement was struck a day after Saudi Arabia agreed to reopen its air, land and sea borders to rival Qatar. Saudi Arabia
Israel, Greece advance major defense deal Israel and Greece will soon sign a $1.68 billion agreement for the purchase of Israeli jets and the opening of a military flight school operated by an Israeli company. Israel
Israel in bind over Iran resuming uranium enrichment With the Iranians now resuming uranium enrichment, Jerusalem prepares itself for the Biden administration resuming nuclear talks with Tehran. Israel
Egypt, Ethiopia escalate war of words over stalled Nile dam talks Ethiopia is accusing Egypt of deliberate hostility amid stalled negotiations on the controversial dam and tension between Addis Ababa and Khartoum. Egypt
Houthis, Hamas merge diplomacy around prisoner releases Hamas welcomes a Houthi initiative to release two Saudi airmen the Houthis captured in Yemen in exchange for Saudi Arabia freeing 60 Palestinian prisoners, including a Hamas leader and his son. Saudi Arabia
Settlers launch hunger strike, call on Netanyahu to legalize West Bank outposts The Young Settlements Forum launched Jan. 4 a hunger strike, calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to abandon his rapprochement with the Arab public and advance instead the legalizing of 70 wildcat outposts in the West Bank. Israel
IS cells escalate attacks on civilians, regime soldiers in eastern Syria Despite the elimination of the Islamic State from its last official territory in Syria in March 2019, IS cells that have been holed up in desert areas in eastern and central Syria remain active and terrorize civilians and soldiers alike. Syria
Egypt's former MPs coming back to political stage with big dreams A group of former parliament members is reorganizing within Egypt’s opposition parties, but it remains unclear whether their efforts can threaten Sisi's grip on power, given the popularity of the Egyptian president and the very thin margin left for the political parties to communicate with the public. Egypt
Iraqis protest on anniversary of Qasem Soleimani's death Iranian officials pledged to avenge the commander's killing by the United States, but there were no military conflicts on the one-year anniversary. Iraq
Saudi Arabia agrees to open airspace, border to Qatar The agreement, announced by Kuwait, could spell an end to the diplomatic crisis between the two Gulf states that began in 2017. Originals
Lebanon to enter new national lockdown Thursday An overnight curfew and other restrictions will run through Feb. 1. Lebanon