Mideast Week in Review - May 8 // FAI ONLINE

Israel — An urgent manhunt is underway in the West Bank as Israeli security forces search for two Palestinian men who murdered three Israeli fathers and injured four others after the Israeli Independence holiday in the town of Elad. The two attackers apparently tricked a Jewish driver into transporting them into Israel on Thursday, claiming to be construction workers en route to repairing a local synagogue. Once inside the conservative Haredi town, the passengers fatally bludgeoned their driver with an axe. The victim fought back and wounded one of his assailants before his death. The terrorists then proceeded to a nearby park, where they attacked several more civilians, killing two more Israeli men, before fleeing the scene. All three victims were young fathers, leaving behind wives and 16 children.

The Elad attack brings the Israeli death toll in terrorist incidents to 18 so far this year. Just two days prior, Hamas leader Yahyah Sinwar praised “lone wolf” attacks as “extremely successful,” calling on Israeli-Arabs to “prepare their guns, axes, cleavers, and knives.” The growing role of Hamas in spurring the recent wave of terrorism from the West Bank has prompted rumors that the Israeli government is planning retaliatory operations against the jihadist group in the Gaza Strip, including an operation to assassinate Sinwar, an allegation which Israeli Defense Minister Benny Ganz refuses to publicly confirm or deny. Sinwar replied to the rumors on Saturday, threatening an “unprecedented” response to any attack on Hamas leadership, including rocket fire from Gaza and suicide bombers from the West Bank.

Iraqi Kurdistan - Just days after the Turkish military began Operation “Claw-Lock” against the PKK militia in Kurdistan’s Duhok Province, the Iraqi military began an offensive against the PKK-aligned Yezidi YBS militia in Shingal Province last Sunday. Overwhelming YBS checkpoints and entering the communities of Dugri and Sinune, Iraqi forces met nonviolent resistance from local residents who protested their occupation. Over 10,000 Yezidis were displaced in the fighting.

The Iraqi-Yezidi confrontation comes less than 8 years after the Islamic State perpetrated the infamous Yezidi Genocide in the same area during the summer of 2014. At least 5,000 Yezidis were massacred in the genocide, mostly men and boys, while over 10,000 women and girls were taken captive as sexual slaves.

Syrian Kurdistan - An unclaimed airstrike targeted Iranian-aligned militia near the border town of Deir Ezzor on Saturday. Although the Israeli military does not typically take responsibility for such strikes, it has previously admitted to “thousands” of airstrikes against pro-Iranian targets across Syria and Iraq since 2013.

The Syrian militia responded to the airstrike with rocket and mortar fire into nearby towns controlled by the Kurdish-majority Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), just a few kilometers from the Koniko oil fields, currently guarded by US forces.

Afghanistan - Taliban leader Haibatullah Akhunzada announced that Afghan women will once again be required to wear the burqa in public. The head-to-toe, face-covering garment was last mandated by the Taliban during their pre-9/11 rule over Afghanistan between 1996-2001. The decree comes after the Taliban has discouraged Afghan women from returning to work, and has so far not allowed girls to return to school since regaining control of the war-weary nation in August 2021.

Meanwhile, the anti-Taliban National Resistance Front (NRF) announced its first offensive against the Taliban occupation on Saturday, claiming to take control of three northern districts in the restive Panjshir region. The Taliban denies that any “military incidents” have taken place.

Egypt - At least 10 Egyptian soldiers and an officer were killed Saturday after they confronted a group of unidentified militants near a water-pumping station east of the Suez Canal on Saturday. Although no one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, the Sinai branch of the Islamic State has been active in the Sinai Peninsula for years. The militant group and its local allies have recently focused their attention on sabotaging oil and gas pipelines since an Egyptian military crackdown drove them into the desert in 2018. Over 1,000 people, including ISIS militants, Egyptian military personnel, and civilians have died so far in the conflict.

As the incidence of “wars and rumors of wars” continues to increase across the Middle East, we implore the Maranatha global family to join us in prayer for the opening of a “great, effectual door” for Good News in the region. We firmly believe that ongoing hostilities, upheaval, and chaos create opportunities for the message of the Prince of Peace.

Maranatha!