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
Dubai begins administering Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine Saudi Arabia and Israel have also approved the American-German vaccine. United Arab Emirates
Turkish Parliament extends troop deployment to Libya The measure, which extends Turkey's presence in Libya by 18 months, had the backing of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's party. Turkey
PKK remains thorn in side of Turkish-Iraqi relations The Iraqi government needs Turkey to counterbalance Iran and help alleviate Baghdad's economic problems, but the Kurdish issue, which has long strained bilateral ties, might further snag progress in economic and strategic projects. Iraq
Chaos as Israeli Knesset disbands, new elections announced Heading toward a fourth round of elections in less than two years, Israelis can no longer tell right from left. Israel
Fourth elections in Israel: Netanyahu’s Moroccan card For Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, renewal of ties with Rabat means one thing: possible support of hundreds of thousands of Israelis of Moroccan origins. Israel
Russia treads lightly in Syrian deadlock Moscow is reacting with marked restraint to the escalation around Ain Issa, even seeming to play along with Ankara, though Turkey and the Syrian National Army have no reason to conduct offensive operations in the area. Syria
Trump pardons Blackwater contractors convicted of Iraq massacre The incident in Baghdad's Nisoor Square deeply strained US-Iraqi ties and marred the reputation of the paramilitary company. Iraq
Hamas walks back 'Christmas ban' in Gaza after uproar A memo leaked from the Hamas-run Ministry of Religious Endowments and Affairs in the Gaza Strip taken as a ban on Christmas and New Year festivities outraged Christian and Muslim Palestinians alike. Palestine
Iraq closes land borders, restaurants with new anti-virus measures The federal Iraqi government is also barring travelers from the UK, Iran and several other countries. Iraq
US show of force in Persian Gulf ahead of anniversary of Soleimani killing A guided-missile submarine and two cruisers are the Pentagon's latest warning to Iran. Saudi Arabia
Microsoft, Google join WhatsApp suit against Israeli spyware vendor The filing follows reports that the Israel-based NSO Group's Pegasus software was used to hack the phones of dozens of Al Jazeera journalists. Israel
Mountain of debt growing under the rug in Turkey Turkey’s loan expansion has helped resuscitate the economy, but at the expense of an alarming surge in consumer and corporate debt. Turkey
