Violence which began as riots following Moslem prayers in Jerusalem on Friday afternoon continued over the weekend, including a terror attack in a Jewish community north of Jerusalem in which three Israelis were stabbed to death in their living room and clashes between Palestinian rioters and Israeli police resulted in several casualties on both sides. On Monday morning, the violence spread to Amman, Jordan, where a security officer for the Israeli Embassy was stabbed by a Jordanian man who was there to do some manual work at the facility.

Protests against Israel flared over the weekend in cities around the world, with violence breaking out at several demonstrations held in front of Israeli embassies in Western capitals and large crowds marching through Arab capitals demanding action against the Jewish State. The Arab League issued a statement on Sunday that Israel’s security measures, including metal detectors, at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem are a “red line” and warned that Israel must back down or face dire consequences.

Israeli security forces arrested 25 Palestinian members of the Islamist terror militia Hamas in the West Bank overnight Saturday.  “The wave of detentions, which included a number of senior Hamas figures, was part of the preventive efforts of the Shin Bet security service and the IDF against the terrorist organizations, particularly during the past week and due to the tension surrounding the Temple Mount and unrest in the area,” the Shin Bet said.

In a development that has left Western governments stunned, the regime in Baghdad signed an agreement over the weekend to form a military alliance with Iran. The pact follows decades of efforts by the US and its Sunni Arab allies in the Middle East to keep Iraq in the camp of countries opposed to Iran. Meanwhile, in northern Iraq and Syria, intense fighting continued over the weekend as jihadist groups re-took territory they had previously lost to Western-backed militias and government forces in both countries.

Israel sent a contingent of civilian firefighters and Air Force Fire Squadron planes to the Balkan nation of Montenegro last week to help fight the large forest fires that have broken out on the Lustica Peninsula there, and also spreading to the territory of neighboring Croatia “The Israeli delegation had fast results, gaining control over all of the fire sites under its responsibility and winning great enthusiasm and admiration from the locals,” said one Israeli official.

Following the attack by three Arab Israelis at the Noble Sanctuary, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, which left two Israeli police officers dead, the Israeli government decided to place new security restrictions at the entrance to the holy site. The Waqf, or Islamic trust presiding over the site, and the Palestinian Authority have called on Muslims to rally against these measures, which protect first and foremost worshipers coming to pray.

The US and its allies have been playing for “victory” in the Middle East, seeking to promote economic and political systems that further stability. Russia, by contrast, seems eager to play for a tie. Arguably, Russia cannot “win”—compared to the US. But Russia can be a spoiler.