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
Israel fears Iranian retaliation before Trump leaves office While Israeli officials have dismissed Iranian allegations that they are preparing for war as "nonsense," Israeli forces have been on a heightened state of alert with the Jan. 3 anniversary of Qasem Soleimani’s killing. Israel
Israeli left mourns Ashkenazi's departure as wasted chance Israelis who believed Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi would be the next leader of the center left are sorely disappointed over his decision to quit politics. Israel
Egypt to become major regional hub for plasma collection In partnership with the South Korean company SK Plasma and with the issuance of a draft bill, Egypt is preparing to collect plasma and its derivatives in a first-of-its-kind operation in Cairo. Egypt
Despite COVID-19 crisis, Egypt’s prestigious Opera House holds Christmas events The Egyptian Opera House organized Christmas celebrations with the participation of many musical groups, while taking into account precautionary measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Egypt
Iran, Hezbollah lead mediation to restore Hamas-Damascus ties Mediation efforts led by Iran and Hezbollah to restore ties between Hamas and the Syrian regime seem to be making progress amid rising tensions with their mutual rivals in the region. Palestine
Amid pandemic, Israel considers drive-through polling stations On the backdrop of a third nationwide closure, preparation for the March elections present great difficulties and challenges. Israel
Afghan officials skeptical of Tehran's offer to send Iran-led militia to fight Islamic State Iran’s foreign minister says it is willing to reposition an Iran-led Afghan militia in Syria to fight Islamic State forces in Afghanistan. Iran
Four must-read books on Trump’s Middle East policies What we learned from Michael Wolff, John Bolton and Bob Woodward about the Trump administration and the Middle East. Saudi Arabia
Zarif says US setting up ‘pretext’ for war As tensions between Iran and the United States escalate, Iran’s foreign minister claims the United States is trying to fabricate evidence for war. Iran
New Iran-Pakistan border crossing has implications beyond trade The opening could indicate a tilt toward China by Iran and comes at a time when there have been small tensions in Islamabad’s relations with Riyadh. Iran
Is the worst behind in Turkey’s economic turmoil? Ankara’s policy reversal on interest rates has led to some positive developments in the economy, but many observers warn that it is still too early to rejoice. Turkey
Israeli Arabs desperate as crime, violence break new records The year 2020 was the bloodiest year in the history of Israel’s Arab society, with 112 murdered, 16 of them in December alone. Originals
