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
Sudan’s fragile transition boosted by turnaround in ties with US, Israel Khartoum is also a key broker in the Nile River dam talks with Egypt and Ethiopia. Originals
Does Iran have a plan for a successor to Khamenei? Recent rumors regarding a decline in Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s health have led to renewed speculation about who will succeed him. Iran
Israel braces for lockdown amid coronavirus spike, new UK strain Egypt is also heading for new restrictions amid a new wave Israel
Flight victims' families reject Iran’s compensation, demand justice Families of the victims of the downed Ukraine Airlines flight warned the Iranian government that they will not accept any planned compensation and rather will fight for justice. Iran
US Customs clarifies position on labeling of West Bank products The US government said areas in the West Bank run by Israel must label products as "Made in Israel" when exporting to the United States, but goods from Palestinian-administered areas do not need to. Israel
Egypt records highest single-day coronavirus count in months The surge in cases led the government to impose a ban on New Year's Eve celebrations across the North African country. Egypt
The Takeaway: How COVID-19 (almost) stole Christmas in Gaza and West Bank Hamas backtracks on plans to cancel Christmas celebrations as COVID-19 cases spike; Palestinians fear ‘double whammy’; Bibi sees Morocco normalization as key to election; and more! Originals
Turkish journalist sentenced to prison over report on Turkey sending weapons to Syria Can Dundar was tried in absentia. The now Germany-based journalist reported on Turkish support for Syrian rebel groups in 2015, which angered President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey
Trump administration weighs immunity for Saudi crown prince Saad al-Jabri alleged that Mohammed bin Salman has led an attempt to lure him back to the kingdom and kill him. Saudi Arabia
New draft law seeks to paralyze Turkish civil society Groups across the ideological spectrum say the law, aimed at keeping Turkey from being blacklisted by the international money laundering watchdog, includes articles that will severely hamper their work. Turkey
Israeli Deni Avdija to make NBA debut The former player for Maccabi Tel Aviv could become the first international basketball star to come out of Israel. Israel
Erdogan blasts European court's ruling on jailed Kurdish leader The European Court of Human Rights said the imprisonment of Selahattin Demirtas had violated his basic rights. Turkey
