Leaders of Palestinian Christian communities in the West Bank are calling on the Palestinian Authority to investigate vandalism attacks on churches near Ramallah and Bethlehem. The Church of God in the village of Aboud, west of Ramallah, was burglarized and damaged last Friday while the Saint Charbel Monastery in Bethlehem was also vandalized on the same day. “We feel we’re being deliberately targeted because we’re Christians,” a Christian woman from Aboud told The Jerusalem Post. “When you see two attacks on a church and monastery in one week, this makes you wonder whether there’s some kind of a scheme against Christians.”

The already high tensions between Iran and the US spiked Sunday evening when a rocket landed near the US Embassy compound in Baghdad, Iraq, causing no casualties but immediately rousing suspicion about a possible attempt by Iranian-backed militias in the city to send a message to Washington. Meanwhile, the government of Saudi Arabia issued a statement on Sunday that they are not seeking a war with Iran but that they are ready for one if Iran starts it.

The Eurovision song contest wrapped up in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening in Tel Aviv, with Holland’s Duncan Laurence taking the top prize while hometown hero Kobi Marimi finishing 23rd. The evening produced some controversy as pop superstar Madonna’s act included two backup dancers with Israeli and Palestinian flags on the back of their costumes while Icelandic band Hatari displayed pro-Palestinian banners during the live broadcast, an act which the European Broadcasters Union said they might be punished for since the Eurovision contest is explicitly non-political. The displays were also rejected by BDS groups, who characterized them as a “fig leaf” which didn’t balance out the fact that the artists had performed in Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during Sunday morning’s cabinet meeting that the leaders of potential partners for his coalition government are making unrealistic demands which make it difficult to sign agreements with them. “I hope that we will find a way, as soon as possible, to bring them back to reality so that we can form a strong and stable government for the State of Israel that will continue to lead the country to new heights,” he said.

In the latest defeat for the movement to Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) Israel, IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Maj.-Gen. Eyal Zamir has been invited to attend a meeting of the NATO Military Committee meeting in Brussels next week. Senior military officers from Israel’s neighbours, Egypt and Jordan, will also attend under the auspices of NATO’s Middle East Dialogue group.

Israel must be ready to face several problematic scenarios, including the expansion of the Iranian nuclear program and a growing potential threat from Iran and its proxies against the interests of the U.S. and its regional allies (including Israel). The “maximum pressure” strategy without a military component is incomplete and doomed to fail – as long as the U.S. does not increase its military signature in the Gulf, is not ready to tackle Iran’s moves on the ground, and is not placing a credible military threat against the Ayatollahs in Teheran.

There is growing Iranian activism in the Middle East despite U.S. and allied efforts to weaken Iran’s economy and politically isolate Tehran. But Iran’s primary military instrument is not  its conventional army, air force, or navy, which are relatively weak. Instead, Iran has provided significant resources and power to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC- QF).

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