International Glance
Israeli settlers on Sunday launched a series of widespread attacks across the West Bank, setting on fire two mosques in Nablus and Tulkarm and damaging heavy equipment at an industrial facility near Ramallah.
Eyewitnesses told Middle East Eye that settlers also raided several towns and villages, attacked homes, destroyed vehicles and fired live ammunition to terrorise residents.
The attacks targeted communities in the governorates of Nablus, Tulkarm, Ramallah, Hebron, Salfit, Qalqilya, Jericho and Jerusalem, according to Palestinian officials who said settlers were acting under the protection of Israeli forces.
In the village of Qusra, south of Nablus, Israeli settlers burned large parts of the al-Rahma mosque and spray-painted racist slogans in Hebrew on its walls.
Activist Abdul-Azim Wadi, from the village, told MEE that he received a call at 2:30 am informing him that settlers had burned the mosque, located in the southwestern part of the village.
Waves of settler attacks target mosques, homes and businesses across West Bank
Netanyahu accuses Mamdani of ‘fomenting hate’ in calls for PM’s arrest
Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Zohran Mamdani, the New York City mayor, is “fomenting hate” by calling the Israeli prime minister a war criminal who should be arrested over Israel’s war in Gaza if he visits the city for the United Nations general assembly.
Netanyahu said he intends to be in New York in September to address the annual UN gathering of world leaders, despite the mayor’s suggestion that he is not welcome. Mamdani said on Wednesday that while New York City does not have legal authority to execute an arrest warrant issued by the world’s top war crimes court, he encouraged the federal government to do so.
“He’s supposed to be the mayor of all New Yorkers – Jews, Christians, Muslims, everyone,” Netanyahu said on the Fox News channel’s Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo. “But he’s trying to turn one group against the other.”
The prime minister has become an increasingly polarizing figure over Israel’s war in Gaza, which was ignited by the 7 October 2023 deadly attack on southern Israel by Hamas militants. Israel also joined the US in starting the war against Iran on 28 February before launching a ground invasion in southern Lebanon in response to fire from the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group.
Pope Francis Dies: First Latin American Pope, Voice Of Progressive Outreach In the Catholic Church Was 88
Pope Francis, leader of the Catholic Church for the past 12 years, died Monday at age 88 after a period of significant health challenges. Francis, whose background and social stances made him unique among popes, leaves behind a legacy of attempts to reorient the Catholic Church toward vulnerable populations, both internally and politically.
Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Argentina, Francis became pope in 2013 following the resignation of his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI. The BBC reported that his election made Francis the first Latin American pope in history and the first pope in centuries to take office while his predecessor was still alive. Francis was also the first pope to be a member of the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits, a Catholic religious order known for its missionary work and public service; he adopted the name Francis in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan religious order.
According to The Associated Press, as pope, Francis embodied the humility and lack of self-aggrandizement represented by these religious orders; he lived in the Vatican hotel instead of the palatial Apostolic Palace, rode in a small car, and wore simple shoes instead of the traditional red loafers of previous popes.
As pope, Francis set a progressive tone for the Catholic Church, per The Guardian. Francis promoted greater incorporation of LGBTQ+ people, women and divorced Catholics into Church life and sometimes leadership positions. While he didn’t generally change official Church doctrine concerning these issues, his tone and willingness to interpret Catholic teachings in more inclusive ways were very different from his socially conservative predecessors.
While not going far enough for some progressives, Francis’ social policies drew anger and opposition from many traditionalists in the Catholic Church, including the generally conservative contingent of United States bishops who sometimes questioned his policies and leadership, according to PBS. Francis’ relationship with the U.S. branch of the Church was not all negative, however. In 2020, he appointed Washington, D.C.’s Archbishop Wilton Gregory as the first Black American cardinal in the Catholic Church.
Luxembourg will not renew approval for Israeli war bonds, finance minister confirms
Luxembourg will not renew its approval for the sale of Israel Bonds in the European Union, the country’s finance minister has confirmed.
In an interview with broadcaster RTL, Gilles Roth said the decision had been taken solely by the CSSF, Luxembourg's financial regulator, which he said had decided two months ago not to extend the bond programme beyond its 31 August expiry date.
Campaign groups in Luxembourg and across the EU have long called for Israel Bond sales to European investors to be stopped. As previously reported by Middle East Eye, they say the programme, which raises billions of dollars for the Israeli government, has helped fund Israel’s wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.
Roth defended the CSSF against criticism, arguing that the regulator had followed European criteria throughout and that many of the accusations levelled at it were unwarranted. The discontinuation, he insisted, was a matter of regulatory compliance rather than political pressure.
That account, however, sits awkwardly within the chronology of recent events.
Israeli settlers rampage through Palestinian village near Nablus
Hundreds of Israeli settlers attacked the Palestinian village of Sarra, southwest of Nablus, on Friday, burning homes, damaging property and assaulting residents.
The attacks forced several families in the occupied West Bank village to flee for safety, residents told Middle East Eye.
Residents said that at least two homes were set on fire, while several Palestinians suffered from smoke inhalation after the fires.
Eyewitnesses told MEE that villagers also attempted to confront the attackers and prevent further damage.
The attack on the village comes after a series of attacks carried out by settlers in the Nablus area, following the deadly attack on the town of Tell.
Mohammed Turabi, a resident of Sarra, said that he and his family were shaken by the settlers' attack on their home, where they hurled stones and Molotov cocktails.
The courtyard, vehicle and ground floor of the house were burned, but the family says it managed to escape unharmed.
Russia Cuts Funding for Putin’s Flagship Technology Projects
The Russian government has significantly slashed the 2025 budgets for the majority of its priority domestic technology initiatives, diverting financial resources to sustain unprecedented military expenditures amid widening fiscal deficits.
A recent analysis by the Moscow-based Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-Term Forecasting (CMASF) indicates that allocations for eight primary “technological leadership” programs were cut by nearly 38%. The revised federal budget provides 201.9 billion rubles ($2.6 billion) for these sectors, down from the initially planned 324.4 billion rubles ($4.2 billion).
The space technology sector experienced the most severe reduction, losing its entire scheduled 10 billion ruble ($129 million) budget.
Initiatives focused on domestic machine tools and industrial robotics – grouped under the Means of Production and Automation national project – saw their funding drop by more than 75%, falling from a planned 52.2 billion rubles to 11.8 billion rubles ($152.2 million).
Harry Enten Spots 'Mammoth' Shift In Israel's Net Favorability Among Americans
CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten said Friday that U.S. voters from both sides of the aisle have soured on Israel, referencing multiple recent polls confirming a “mammoth” shift in favorability — which Enten suggested could pose a serious problem for the Republican Party.
Enten made his case during an appearance on “News Central” after host John Berman noted Israel has been “one of the key issues” raised by Democrats in recent months, and that continued U.S. military aid to the country is not a partisan matter anymore.
“These are some absolutely huge, mammoth changes, generational changes that we’re talking about,” Enten said Friday. “I think there are a lot of Republicans [who think], ‘Oh, we’ll be able to run against these anti-Israeli Democrats once we hit the general election.’”
The data guru said Republicans can continue to believe that voters feel “very differently” about the matter than Democrats, as criticism of Israel has largely come from the party’s more progressive wing, but noted Israel’s net favorability has been “all negative” since the spring.
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