The Israel Allies Foundation, an initiative to mobilize Christian lawmakers in democratic countries around the world which the ICEJ has played an active role in, released a statement Friday criticizing the recent resolution by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) denying Jewish and Christian ties to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The statement added weight to diplomatic efforts to reverse the decision, which also received a boost over the weekend by Italy’s announcement that it will oppose the measure in future UN forums.

Security forces of the Palestinian Authority released four men Sunday who had been arrested for accepting an invitation by Efrat Council head Oded Revivi to visit his succa over the recent Feast of Tabernacles holiday. “All Palestinians condemn the [visit], and visiting settlers is completely unacceptable,” declared PA Deputy-Governor of the Bethlehem Governorate Muhammad Taha in an interview with a Palestinian media outlet.

Israel’s neighbor to the south, Egypt, suffered blows over the weekend as a senior military officer who had recently overseen the destruction of tunnels used to smuggle weapons and other contraband into the Gaza Strip was assassinated. The incident came amidst a legal and kinetic assault on the Moslem Brotherhood and the Islamic State (IS) terror militia in Egypt, which flared again Sunday in the Sinai Peninsula directly bordering southern Israel. Meanwhile, an Israeli was wounded by gunfire coming from the Egyptian side of the border Tuesday afternoon.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday amid escalating tensions between Moscow and the West on several fronts. A Kremlin statement on the phone call said Putin “cordially” congratulated Netanyahu on his birthday, adding “The two leaders exchanged greetings on the occasion of the 25th anniversary [October 18] of the restoration of diplomatic relations between Russia and Israel, and emphasized their interest in further developing multifaceted bilateral cooperation. They also discussed urgent international and regional issues.”

Reports emerged on Tuesday that the Church of the Transfiguration, located on Mount Tabor in northern Israel, had been broken into a vandalized, with several items stolen. Police were investigating, although they announced early that there had been no graffiti scrawled on or near the Church, appearing to indicate that they did not suspect this of being a “price tag” attack such as have been carried out against Christian sites in the past.

Recent security incidents to Israel’s north and south brought the country’s attention back to its most explosive fronts. On both fronts the IDF faces terror organizations, Hezbollah and Hamas, that have institutionalized and taken on characteristics of states.