Here’s what’s upcoming and what you may have missed at CMEP and in the news.
Middle East News
1. New Iran peace proposals triggers tense Trump-Netanyahu call
Axios
"President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed a new effort to reach a deal with Iran in a difficult call on Tuesday, three sources said, with one source saying Netanyahu's "hair was on fire" after the call. A revised peace memo was drafted by Qatar and Pakistan with input from the other regional mediators to try to bridge the gaps between the U.S. and Iran, the sources said. It comes with Trump vacillating over ordering a massive strike on Iran and holding out for a deal".
2. Israeli security minister stirs diplomatic outrage with flotilla activist abuse video
The Guardian
"Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has sparked a diplomatic crisis by publishing footage of Israeli security forces abusing international activists who were detained as they tried to sail to Gaza with aid. Three activists were taken to hospital as result of Israeli violence, lawyers representing the group said. They were subsequently discharged. Dozens of others have suspected broken ribs, resulting in breathing problems".
3. '‘The door to the future of Gaza is still closed’: Trump’s reconstruction promises stall
The Guardian
"Gaza is in a grim limbo more than seven months after Donald Trump brokered a ceasefire deal: no reconstruction is under way, the so-called Board of Peace is struggling with funding and Palestinian technocrats chosen to run the strip are sidelined in Egypt. In a 15 May submission to the UN security council, the Board of Peace said the “principal obstacle” to realising Trump’s plan for Gaza was Hamas’s refusal to hand over its weapons and cede control of the strip – but several people familiar with the body said funding shortfalls could jeopardise the effort".
4. Lebanon says 21 killed, including children, in Israeli air strikes
BBC News
"Israeli air strikes killed at least 21 people in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, according to the country's health ministry and media. Twelve of them, including three children and three women, were killed in a single attack on a house in the town of Deir Qanoun al-Nahr, the state-run National News Agency reported. The Israeli military said it struck "a Hezbollah terrorist in a structure used for military purposes" in the area, referring to the Iran-backed, Shia Islamist armed group. One Israeli soldier was killed on Tuesday as Hezbollah attacked forces occupying parts of southern Lebanon".
5. After the sirens: Lebanon's first responders swing between duty and grief
NPR News
"Israel has repeatedly accused Hezbollah of using ambulances and medical facilities for military purposes, without providing evidence, claims Lebanon's health ministry denies. International law protects hospitals, rescue teams and ambulance crews. "But what we see now, no, it's not that," says Mona Boud Zeid, the director of Al Najdeh al-Shaabiyeh Hospital, which treats the wounded in southern Lebanon. From the hospital's location in Nabatieh, she can see the airstrikes. "It's like what we see now in Gaza. It's the same. ... Maybe our hospitals, our nurses, our doctors will go through the same."
6. Iran rebuilding military industrial base faster than expected, already producing drones, according to US intel
CNN News
"Iran has already restarted some of its drone production during the six-week ceasefire that began in early April, one sign it is rapidly rebuilding certain military capabilities degraded by US-Israeli strikes, according to two sources familiar with US intelligence assessments. Four sources told CNN that US intelligence indicates Iran’s military is reconstituting much faster than initially estimated. The rebuilding of military capabilities, including replacing missile sites, launchers and production capacity for key weapons systems destroyed during the current conflict, means that Iran remains a significant threat to regional allies should President Donald Trump restart the bombing campaign, according to the four sources familiar with the intelligence. It also calls into question claims about the extent to which US-Israeli strikes have degraded Iran’s military in the long term".
7. Layan Nasir returns home to occupied West Bank after third spell in Israeli prison
Church Times
"The Dean of St George’s College, Jerusalem, the Very Revd Canon Richard Sewell, has described the joy of welcoming the Palestinian Layan Nasir, back home in the occupied West Bank, after her third period of incarceration in an Israeli prison. Ms Nasir, 25, an Anglican, returned home to Birzeit on Friday after a further eight months in the Israeli prison system. She was first imprisoned in 2021, when she was charged with involvement with a banned student organisation, a charge that her family dispute".
8. Community grieves the 3 men killed while defending San Diego mosque
AP News
"The three people killed by two teen shooters at a San Diego mosque were beloved pillars of the community, and died while saving roughly 140 children who were in the building at the time of the attack, authorities said Tuesday. All three men were shot while trying to delay and distract the two gunmen who barged into the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday, San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said. The Imam of the Islamic Center of San Diego, Taha Hassane, identified the three victims as Amin Abdullah, 51, Nadir Awad, 57, and Mansour Kaziha, 78, who was known as Abu Ezz. “We call them our brothers in the community. We call them our martyrs and our heroes,” Hassane said".
Please join us on Zoom for a weekly briefing on current news regarding the Hamas and Israel War. Hear from CMEP Staff and other experts and ask questions at the end. Every Thursday from 10:30-11:15 am Eastern.
May 21, 2026: Prayers4Peace: Be God’s Microphone – Lessons from the life of Saint Óscar Romero
In this P4P, James Gallagher explores the life of Saint Óscar Romero, a Salvadorian priest who used his position to speak out against the government violence and economic injustice that plagued El Salvador. Speaking out against the death squads that took civilian lives, and would eventually take his own, Romero encouraged Catholics to be "God's Microphones", to speak out in favor of God's peace. Gallagher emphasizes how Romero's example demonstrates a moral imperative to speak out and resist in the face of evil, and how it is the duty of Christians to give a voice to the voiceless.
May 20, 2026: What Seoul and Jerusalem Share: Minjung Theology, Palestinian Suffering, and the Church’s Moral Imagination
In his article, CMEP AWCF Rubin McClain describes the parallels between Christisan moral imgaination in Korea and Palestine. Using Minjung Theology, developed by Korean Christians as a way to understand their faith under occupation and dictatorship, McClain describes the similarities of oppressive conditions in Korea and Palestine. The article describes how Christian faith must be seen from the view of those who suffer, which allows for resistance, solidarity, and collective hope.
This article was written by CMEP AWCF Rubin McClain
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June 3, 2026: Faith, Resistance, and the Politics of Solidarity Part 1: "White Genocide" and Real Genocide: South Africa, Palestine, and the Politics of Fear
Featuring Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac, Pastor Rudi Swanepoel, Rev. Edwin Arrison, and Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon, the opening session examines the political and theological power of competing narratives around violence, victimhood, and oppression in South Africa and Palestine. As claims of a so-called “white genocide” in South Africa continue to circulate globally despite widespread criticism from scholars and human rights advocates, Palestinians and international observers have increasingly raised urgent alarms about the realities of mass displacement, collective punishment, and genocide in Gaza. Grounded in the lived experiences of South African and Palestinian leaders, the session invites participants to wrestle with questions of justice, solidarity, and the ethical use– and misuse– of the language of genocide.
