Friday, June 26, 2026

FARA Docs: Israel is Spying On Millions Of Christian Americans In Their Churches

Source: Mint News

If you are a Christian living in the Western United States, you have almost certainly been targeted with pro-Israel, anti-Palestine propaganda, paid for directly by the government of Benjamin Netanyahu. Your searches, location, and internet activity is being monitored by Israel, and your algorithms and search results across multiple platforms are being manipulated by Israeli government in what its American partner calls the “largest geofencing and targeted Christian digital campaign ever.”

Amid a massive drop in support from the Christian community, Israel is spending millions of dollars to target individuals entering churches or Christian colleges with ads, and paying pastors across the country to promote propaganda and false “anti-Palestinian” narratives every Sunday, documents filed with the United States’ Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) show. 

The 86-page disclosure reveals that Israel is recruiting Hollywood celebrities and sports stars to promote the country, while also manipulating Christians’ social media feeds. And they are doing it by spying on you through your phone. 

MintPress explores this explosive story, largely ignored in corporate media. 

Propaganda Storm

In September, Show Faith by Works LLC, a San Diego-based company led by conservative activist Chad Schnitger, filed a sworn document with the U.S. Department of Justice. The declaration revealed that the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs was paying Show Faith by Works $4.1 million to carry out a massive, covert, digital surveillance operation targeting Christian communities across multiple states, including California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming. 

The document noted that all students at every Christian college and every congregant at “every major church” in California, Arizona, Nevada, and Colorado has been spied on through their phone’s location data, and targeted with propaganda extolling Israel’s “moral superiority” and “linking the Palestinian population with extremist factions.” The campaign estimates that it has reached well over eight million Americans.

Show Faith by Works itself divides its messaging into two themes: “pro-Israel” and “anti-Palestinian”. Its primary goals, in its own words, are to “combat low American Evangelical Christian approval of the Nation of Israel,” by “using biblical arguments to highlight the importance of Israel and the Jewish People to Christians.” It also wishes to “educate Christians on the historical importance of Israel and its significance in the region,” and to “counter new and evolving pro-Palestinian messaging as the global narrative shifts.”

Many of their anti-Palestinian talking points are highly controversial, dubious, or even blatant falsehoods. Their principal messaging on Palestine is that there never was (or should be) a Palestinian state in history, that “Palestinians shelter terrorists” and “hide weapons in their schools and hospitals,” and that they are not a trustworthy actor, as the Palestinians’ goals are “genocidal.”

They also share ads and messages with American Christians claiming that Gazans kill U.S. Christian aid workers distributing food to them, and that “Israel is the birthplace of Jesus.” (In fact, Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem, in the Palestinian West Bank.)

The overall message, then, is one extolling Israel’s supposed virtues, encouraging Americans to visit, while dehumanizing Palestinians (including the 12.5% of historic Palestine who were Christians themselves) as genocidal terrorist intent on destroying the world. 

Show Faith by Works projects that this content will receive 47 million impressions across the United States in its first twelve months in operation. 

Hi-Tech Targeting

Show Faith by Works and the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs are able to carry out this sophisticated operation by taking advantage of a technology called “geofencing.” Geofencing creates invisible digital boundaries around real world locations (in this case, hundreds of churches and universities). Any phone or smart device entering a church on Sunday or a college during term time is logged and recorded. The operation then begins sending targeted advertisements and messaging to each device through ad networks, promoting Israel and demonizing Palestine. These messages appear in Google searches, on social media, and on any number of apps and platforms. 

Your behavioral data – how you respond to the ads, what you click, or how long you watch for, is fed back into the operation in order to tailor messaging to each individual, making future targeting more effective. Over time, the system builds up an enormous amount of data on each individual – their locations, beliefs, preferences, and actions, in order to better manipulate them. 

Once you enter a church or college targeted by Israel, there is almost nothing you can do about it. They are paying to manipulate your search results, news feeds, and algorithms. What you see online will be decided by Israel, not by you. And virtually none of the millions of people affected are aware this is happening. 

Is Your Pastor a Secret Israeli Agent?

The operation admits that it has “digitally target[ing]” every large church in four western states. This includes 219 in California, 39 in Arizona, 32 in Colorado, and 14 in Nevada. Some of these megachurches boast congregations of up to 45,000 people, helping reach an estimated 3.9 million individuals. It has also geofenced hundreds of smaller churches across the country, reaching a further 3.8 million Christians, primarily in urban locations. 

A wide range of Christian denominations has been targeted, including some traditionally associated with the conservative right-wing, such as the Southern Baptists and Pentecostals, generally associated. But the operation also focuses on others, such as the United Methodist Church, the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the Churches of Christ, and the American Baptist Churches USA. 

A full list of confirmed churches and Christian colleges likely targeted can be found at the end of this investigation. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described the battle for American public opinion to be the “eighth front” of the war, comparing it to the seven-front campaign he is already waging. In order to win this crucial struggle, Israel is employing Show Faith by Works to insert its messaging directly into the sacred sanctuaries of American churches. 

The company was involved in the 1000 Pastors Project, an endeavor that saw some 1070 American clergymen accept an expense-paid trip to Israel in December in order to equip them with the ability to serve as unofficial ambassadors for the country. Thousands more pastors are expected to be invited on a similar trip this year. 

Show Faith by Works has designed, published and distributed “pastoral resource packages” to hundreds of churches, packages that include “pro-Israel educational materials,” like the ones discussed previously, information “debunking pro-Palestinian popular arguments,” and helps to  organize group travel trips to Israel. They also recruit pastors to write newspaper op-eds, and produce 3-5 minute pro-Israel video lectures designed to be played in churches across the nation. 

There is also a special effort to reach minority communities, with content specifically aimed at young women, Catholics, and Hispanic Christians being produced, while their pro-Israel material is also translated into Spanish, Vietnamese, and Russian. 

American Colleges Get “the October 7 Experience”

Young American Christians are moving away from their traditional positions on the Middle East. A 2021 poll found that support for Israel among evangelicals aged 18-29 had dropped from 75% to just 34% over the past three years. 

To that end, dozens of Christian colleges, with a total student body of well over 100,000 students have been geofenced. The Israel/Show Faith by Works project goal is to establish a major presence at Christian universities and seminaries, including making connections with professors, and hiring student representatives to spread the word and hand out specially designed merchandise. 

The campaign includes creating an interactive travelling virtual reality exhibit called the “October 7 Experience” that will tour campuses, showing “atrocities from 10/7” and explaining the difficulties that the Israeli Defense Forces face while “fighting bad guys in hostile territory.”

Celebrity Agents of Israel 

According to the documents, the October 7 Experience would be constructed by the company’s (unnamed) Hollywood coordinator, who would use their Tinsel Town connections to build a five-star exhibit. The coordinator’s job also included making connections with “top-tier Hollywood talent to book Christian celebrities and Christian athletes to deliver pro-Israel messaging.” 

Among the names floated as possible hires include actors Jon Voight and Chris Pratt. From the world of sports, they aim to recruit former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow, three-time World Series winning pitcher Clayton Kershaw, and NBA star, Stephen Curry. Curry has expressed a deep interest in Israeli culture, has told the press that he is learning Hebrew, has two Hebrew tattoos on his wrists, and has invested heavily in Israeli defense corporations founded and staffed by IDF officers. For more on the NBA’s connections to Apartheid, see the MintPress investigation, “From Dunks to Drones: The NBA Has an Israel Problem.”

Another key category of influencers the project was looking to recruit was celebrity megachurch pastors. These included Mark Driscoll, Rick Warren, and Greg Laurie. Together, it was hoped that this stable of prominent Christians could use their power to influence the opinions of millions of followers nationwide, shoring up Israel’s sliding approval ratings in the United States. 

Manipulating the Media

The Israeli government considers the online war as important as its military attacks against Palestine, Lebanon, Iran, and beyond. The documents show that Show Faith by Works planned to flood the internet with digital content – websites, social media posts, podcasts, and videos – in order to overwhelm both search engines and ordinary users with pro-Israel content. 

Search engine optimization (SEO) – the practice of enhancing media’s visibility in search results – is a key part of this. As the document explains, the group will “optimize SEO traffic so that favorable coverage is increased and unfavorable information is decreased,” by “redirect[ing] nearly all web traffic to friendly sites based on key [search] terms,” “ensur[ing] that [our] website is the top of all search results,” and “prioritiz[ing] our information to key demographics.” 

A less well-known tactic the group is using is generative engine optimization, or GEO, a new technique aimed at influencing how A.I. chatbots like ChatGPT and Claude “learn” in order to make them espouse pro-Israeli views. Show Faith by Works planned to deluge the internet with fake questions and answers written by them, in order that A.I. will parrot their talking points to users across the world. 

Other media projects listed included starting Christian podcasts designed to sneak pro-Israel messaging to listeners, paying for pro-Israel ads and messages to be read out on other faith–based shows, and hiring a pastor to “keep up with Isreal [sic] news and to highlight pro-Israel, anti-Hamas news.”

They also plan to pay Christian influencers on social media to post about the virtues of Israel and “counter pro-Palestinian propaganda with response videos.” This strategy is similar to that of a similar Israeli campaign called the Esther Project, which paid influencers a reported $7,000 per post that supported Israel. None of the individuals receiving the money, however, has followed the law by filing as a foreign agent under FARA, leading to rampant speculation online about who has become rich accepting cash from Tel Aviv. 

In short, then, the project’s goal is to create an enormous astroturfed wave of support for Israel in the Christian community by paying pastors, celebrities, and influencers to espouse their support and admiration for the country, its society, and its geopolitical goals. 

Unbeknownst to the tens of millions of Christians seeing these messages in their ads, search engine results, chatbot answers, or in their churches and universities, none of this is natural. Rather, it is the result of a deliberate and designed strategy to manipulate their thoughts and opinions into supporting a state carrying out a genocide – including against Christians. 

Israel’s War on Christians in West Asia

Palestine was once a land where large numbers of Christians and Muslims lived side by side in relative harmony. Today, that is not the case. During the Nakba – the 1948 establishment of Israel, Israeli ethnically cleansed 90,000 Palestinian Christians, and shut down dozens of churches.

Since 2023, the attacks on Christians have greatly increased. Every church in Gaza has been damaged or destroyed. This includes the historic Church of Saint Porphyrius, the third-oldest Christian place of worship in the world. The site has been targeted multiple times by Israeli forces, leading to the partial collapse of the religious building, which can trace its history back to 425 A.D.

Also targeted was the Al Ahli Church and Baptist Hospital, where repeated Israeli strikes pulverized the complex, killing hundreds. 

Inside Israel, attacks on priests, pastors, and other clergy are a regular occurrence. Last month, footage of a 48-year-old French nun in East Jerusalem being pushed to the ground and kicked by a settler went viral, as did images of Israeli soldiers gleefully desecrating a church and taking a sledgehammer to a statue of Jesus in Southern Lebanon. 

For decades, Christians have had to endure the common practice of Jews spitting on them. This sort of overt daily hostility towards Christians has proved to be a problem for pro-Israel conservative American church groups traveling to the region. Last year, conservative commentator and podcaster Brandon Tatum drew international ridicule, when, in an interview with Netanyahu, he thanked the Israeli prime minister and revealed that his Christian group was “only spit on once” during their trip to his country. 

One of Show Faith by Works’ key talking points that it promotes, however, is that “Israel protects Christians like no other nation in the Middle East.”

American Christians Losing Faith in Israel

Support for Israel among Christians is crashing. This is reflective of a broader trend across the country; an April poll conducted by Pew Research found only 37% of Americans see Israel in a favorable light, as opposed to 60% unfavorably. 

For decades, Israel has enjoyed widespread support from American Christians, particularly Evangelical Protestants, as many believe its existence is a prerequisite for the end of days, when Jesus Christ will return to Earth to establish his heavenly kingdom. 

Nevertheless, its popularity, especially among younger Christians, is cratering, falling to just 34%. This age discrepancy is partially down to different patterns of media consumption. Elderly Americans continue to get their news from TV networks owned and controlled by billionaires such as Larry Ellison and Rupert Murdoch, both of whom are extremely close personal friends and passionate supporters of Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s expansionist policies. Younger Americans, by contrast, rely primarily on social media as their number one source of news. 

Explaining this phenomenon, Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of pro-Israel pressure group, the Anti-Defamation League, stated that “we have a TikTok problem…a Gen-Z problem.” 

To that end, Israel has poured vast amounts of resources into targeting Americans. The government’s yearly public relations budget has ballooned to $730 million – a roughly 100-fold increase on pre-October 7 levels. And it is Americans that are the prime targets of Israel’s focus. Indeed, the word “target” appears 44 times in the 86-page document, indicating that Show Faith by Works sees them as threats to be neutralized. 

Christians report that being singled out like this in their sacred place of worship feels like a violation. Millions of American Christians are being secretly spied upon, and bombarded with propaganda. Christians in Palestine, Lebanon and the broader region, meanwhile, are surveiled, harassed, and bombarded with drones and missiles. In both cases, Israel is carrying out a coordinated, sophisticated and sustained attack on the Christian community. In Palestine, however, they are paying for it with their lives. 

There now follows a list of all places of worship listed as targeted in the disclosure. 

Abundant Life Cathedral ChurchHoustonTX
Abundant Life Christian CenterLa MarqueTX
Abundant Life Christian FellowshipMountain ViewCA
Abundant Life Church of GodSan AntonioTX
Abundant Living Faith CenterEl PasoTX
Abundant Living Family ChurchRancho CucamongaCA
Acts Full Gospel Church of God In ChristOaklandCA
Adventure Christian ChurchRosevilleCA
Agape International Center for TruthCulver CityCA
Alamo City Christian FellowshipSan AntonioTX
Alamo Heights United Methodist ChurchSan AntonioTX
Alief Baptist ChurchHoustonTX
All Nations ChurchLakeview TerraceCA
Allen Temple Baptist ChurchOaklandCA
Antioch Community ChurchWacoTX
Antioch Fellowship Missionary Baptist ChurchDallasTX
Antioch Missionary Baptist ChurchBeaumontTX
Apex ChurchLas VegasNV
Arcade Baptist ChurchSacramentoCA
Ark Family ChurchConroeTX
Atascadero Bible ChurchAtascaderoCA
Austin Christian FellowshipAustinTX
Austin Ridge Bible ChurchAustinTX
Bandera Road Community ChurchSan AntonioTX
Bannockburn Baptist ChurchAustinTX
Baptist Temple ChurchMcAllenTX
Bay Area Christian ChurchPalo AltoCA
Bay Area FellowshipCorpus ChristiTX
Bayside ChurchRosevilleCA
Bayside of South SacramentoSacramentoCA
Bayview Baptist ChurchSan DiegoCA
Bear Creek Baptist ChurchKatyTX
Bel Air Presbyterian ChurchLos AngelesCA
Beltway Park Baptist ChurchAbileneTX
Bent Tree Bible FellowshipCarrolltonTX
Berendo Street Baptist ChurchLos AngelesCA
Bethany Lutheran ChurchAustinTX
Bethany Slavic Missionary ChurchSacramentoCA
Bethel ChurchIrvineCA
Bethel ChurchReddingCA
Bethel Church of San JoseSan JoseCA
Bethel’s FamilyHoustonTX
Big Valley Grace Community ChurchModestoCA
Bonita Valley Community ChurchBonitaCA
Braeswood Assembly of GodHoustonTX
Brentwood Baptist ChurchHoustonTX
Bright Russian Baptist ChurchWest SacramentoCA
Brookins Community AME ChurchLos AngelesCA
Calvary AustinPflugervilleTX
Calvary Baptist ChurchBeaumontTX
Calvary Bible ChurchBurbankCA
Calvary Bible FellowshipTemeculaCA
Calvary Bible FellowshipTemeculaCA
Calvary ChapelSanta BarbaraCA
Calvary ChapelDowneyCA
Calvary Chapel Chino ValleyChinoCA
Calvary Chapel Golden SpringsDiamond BarCA
Calvary Chapel La HabraLa HabraCA
Calvary Chapel ModestoModestoCA
Calvary Chapel MontebelloMontebelloCA
Calvary Chapel of Costa MesaSanta AnaCA
Calvary Chapel of OceansideOceansideCA
Calvary Chapel of PrescottPrescottAZ
Calvary Chapel of VistaVistaCA
Calvary Chapel Rancho Santa MargaritaRancho Santa MargaritaCA
Calvary Chapel South BayGardenaCA
Calvary Chapel Spring ValleyLas VegasNV
Calvary Chapel WestgroveGarden GroveCA
Calvary Christian CenterSacramentoCA
Calvary ChurchIrvingTX
Calvary Church of Santa AnaSanta AnaCA
Calvary Community ChurchWestlake VillageCA
Calvary HoustonFriendswoodTX
Calvary MurrietaMurrietaCA
Calvary PhoenixPhoenixAZ
Calvary TempleConcordCA
Calvary TucsonTucsonAZ
Calvary Worship CenterColorado SpringsCO
Campus Hill ChurchLoma LindaCA
Canyon Ridge Christian ChurchLas VegasNV
Canyon View Vineyard ChurchGrand JunctionCO
Capital Christian CenterSacramentoCA
Capo Beach CalvaryCapistrano BeachCA
Casas ChurchTucsonAZ
Cathedral of FaithSan JoseCA
Cathedral of HopeDallasTX
Celebration ChurchGeorgetownTX
Central Baptist ChurchCollege StationTX
Central Christian ChurchMesaAZ
Central Christian ChurchHendersonNV
Central Christian ChurchLancasterCA
Champion Forest Baptist ChurchHoustonTX
Chandler Christian ChurchChandlerAZ
Chapelwood United Methodist ChurchHoustonTX
Chase Oaks ChurchPlanoTX
Cherry Hills Community ChurchHighlands RanchCO
Christ Chapel Bible ChurchFort WorthTX
Christ Church PlanoPlanoTX
Christ Community ChurchTucsonAZ
Christ Community ChurchGreeleyCO
Christ FellowshipMcKinneyTX
Christ United Methodist ChurchPlanoTX
Christ’s Church of the ValleyPeoriaAZ
Christ’s Church of the ValleySan DimasCA
Christian Assembly Foursquare ChurchEagle RockCA
Christian Chapel Temple of FaithDallasTX
Christian House of PrayerCopperas CoveTX
Christian Life CenterStocktonCA
Christian TabernacleHoustonTX
Christian Worship CenterMantecaCA
Church at Sugar CreekSugar LandTX
Church For All NationsColorado SpringsCO
Church for the NationsPhoenixAZ
Church of the HarvestLos AngelesCA
Church Without WallsHoustonTX
Cielo Vista ChurchEl PasoTX
City of GraceMesaAZ
City of Refuge ChurchGardenaCA
Clear Creek Community ChurchLeague CityTX
Coast Hills Community ChurchAliso ViejoCA
Colorado Community Church AuroraAuroraCO
Colorado Community Church EnglewoodEnglewoodCO
Columbus Avenue Baptist ChurchWacoTX
Community Bible ChurchSan AntonioTX
Community Church of JoyGlendaleAZ
Community of FaithHockleyTX
Compass Christian ChurchColleyvilleTX
Compass ChurchSalinasCA
Concord ChurchDallasTX
Concordia Lutheran ChurchSan AntonioTX
Cornerstone Christian FellowshipChandlerAZ
Cornerstone ChurchSan AntonioTX
Cornerstone ChurchFresnoCA
Cornerstone Community ChurchWildomarCA
Cornerstone Community ChurchSimi ValleyCA
Cornerstone FellowshipLivermoreCA
Cottonwood Christian CenterLos AlamitosCA
Cottonwood Creek Baptist ChurchAllenTX
Covenant ChurchCarrolltonTX
Covina Assembly of GodCovinaCA
Crenshaw Christian CenterLos AngelesCA
Cross Timbers Community ChurchArgyleTX
Cross Word Christian ChurchRiversideCA
CrossPoint Community ChurchModestoCA
Crossroads Christian ChurchGrand PrairieTX
Crossroads Christian ChurchCoronaCA
Crossroads ChurchLovelandCO
Crossroads ChurchGrass ValleyCA
Crossroads Church of DenverWheat RidgeCO
Crossroads Community ChurchVallejoCA
Crossroads Grace Community ChurchMantecaCA
Denton Bible ChurchDentonTX
Desert ChapelPalm SpringsCA
Desert Vineyard Christian FellowshipLancasterCA
Destiny ChurchIndioCA
DFW New Beginnings ChurchIrvingTX
Dream City ChurchPhoenixAZ
Eastern Hills Community ChurchCentennialCO
EastLake ChurchChula VistaCA
Eastside Christian ChurchAnaheimCA
Elevate Life ChurchFriscoTX
Emmanuel Faith Community ChurchEscondidoCA
Experience LifeLubbockTX
Faith Bible ChapelArvadaCO
Faith Community ChurchTucsonAZ
Faith Community ChurchWest CovinaCA
Faith Evangelical Free ChurchFort CollinsCO
Faith Family ChurchVictoriaTX
Faith Fellowship Foursquare ChurchSan LeandroCA
Faithbridge ChurchSpringTX
Faithful Central Bible ChurchInglewoodCA
Fallbrook ChurchHoustonTX
Family Community ChurchSan JoseCA
Fellowship ChurchGrapevineTX
Fellowship of the ParksKellerTX
Fielder Road Baptist ChurchArlingtonTX
First African Methodist Episcopal ChurchLos AngelesCA
First Baptist ChurchBeltonTX
First Baptist ChurchMidlandTX
First Baptist ChurchWichita FallsTX
First Baptist ChurchAldingtonTX
First Baptist ChurchDallasTX
First Baptist ChurchPasadenaTX
First Baptist Church AmarilloAmarilloTX
First Baptist Church EulessEulessTX
First Baptist Church McKinneyMcKinneyTX
First Baptist Church of Elk GroveElk GroveCA
First Baptist Church of Hamilton ParkRichardsonTX
First Baptist Church of LubbockLubbockTX
First Baptist Church of RichardsonRichardsonTX
First Chinese Baptist ChurchLos AngelesCA
First Christian ChurchHuntington BeachCA
First Church of the NazarenePasadenaCA
First Covenant ChurchSacramentoCA
First Evangelical Free ChurchAustinTX
First Evangelical Free Church of FullertonFullertonCA
First Presbyterian ChurchColorado SpringsCO
First United Methodist ChurchMansfieldTX
First United Methodist Church RichardsonRichardsonTX
Flatirons Community ChurchLafayetteCO
Flood ChurchSan DiegoCA
Foothills Bible ChurchLittletonCO
Foothills Christian FellowshipEl CajonCA
Friendship West Baptist ChurchDallasTX
Gateway ChurchSouthlakeTX
Gateway Community ChurchAustinTX
Glenview Baptist ChurchFort WorthTX
Glide Memorial United Methodist ChurchSan FranciscoCA
Globe Harvest ChurchDallasTX
Golden Hills Community ChurchBrentwoodCA
Gospel Tabernacle ChurchDallasTX
Grace Baptist ChurchSanta ClaritaCA
Grace Bible ChurchCollege StationTX
Grace Brethren ChurchLong BeachCA
Grace Christian CenterKilleenTX
Grace ChurchRenoNV
Grace Community ChurchTempeAZ
Grace Community ChurchRenoNV
Grace Community ChurchPlanoTX
Grace Community ChurchTylerTX
Grace Community ChurchHoustonTX
Grace Community ChurchSun ValleyCA
Grace Covenant ChurchAustinTX
Grace Fellowship United Methodist ChurchKatyTX
Grace Korean ChurchFullertonCA
Grace Outreach CenterPlanoTX
Great Commission Baptist ChurchFort WorthTX
Great Hills Baptist ChurchAustinTX
Greater Cornerstone Baptist ChurchDallasTX
Greater Mount Zion Baptist ChurchAustinTX
Greater Saint Matthew ChurchHoustonTX
Greater Saint Paul Baptist ChurchOaklandCA
Green Acres Baptist ChurchTylerTX
Greenwood Community ChurchGreenwood VillageCO
Harvest Christian FellowshipRiversideCA
Harvest ChurchFort WorthTX
Harvest ChurchElk GroveCA
Harvest Time ChurchHoustonTX
Healing WordTustinCA
Heart Revolution ChurchNational CityCA
High Desert ChurchVictorvilleCA
High Point ChurchArlingtonTX
High Pointe Baptist ChurchAustinTX
Higher Dimension ChurchHoustonTX
Highland Church of ChristAbileneTX
Highland Park Community ChurchCasperWY
Highland Park United Methodist ChurchDallasTX
Highlands ChurchScottsdaleAZ
Hill Country Bible Church NWAustinTX
Hillside Christian Church- Amarillo WestAmarilloTX
Hillside Community ChurchAlta LomaCA
Hope FellowshipFriscoTX
Hope PointYuba CityCA
Horizon Christian FellowshipSan DiegoCA
Horizon Christian Fellowship North CountyRancho Santa FeCA
Houston’s First Baptist ChurchHoustonTX
Hyde Park Baptist ChurchAustinTX
Iglesia Cristiana La Familia de DiosOntarioCA
Iglesia Cristiana MisericordiaLaredoTX
Iglesia Cristiana Rios De Agua VivaPomonaCA
Iglesia De Restauracion Inc.Los AngelesCA
Iglesia Ni CristoLos AngelesCA
Iglesia Puerta Del CieloEl PasoTX
Immanuel Baptist ChurchHighlandCA
Inland Hills ChurchChinoCA
Inspiring Body of Christ ChurchDallasTX
International Christian CenterBrownsvilleTX
International Church of Las VegasLas VegasNV
Irving Bible ChurchIrvingTX
Journey Community ChurchLa MesaCA
Journey of FaithManhattan BeachCA
Jubilee Christian CenterSan JoseCA
Jubilee Fellowship ChurchLone TreeCO
Kingdom in the Valley Christian ChurchLitchfield ParkAZ
Kingsland Baptist ChurchKatyTX
Knott Avenue Christian ChurchAnaheimCA
La Casa de Cristo Lutheran ChurchScottsdaleAZ
La Iglesia en el CaminoVan NuysCA
Lake Arlington Baptist ChurchArlingtonTX
Lake Avenue ChurchPasadenaCA
Lake Hills ChurchAustinTX
Lake Pointe ChurchRockwallTX
Lakeside Baptist ChurchGranburyTX
Lakeside ChurchFolsomCA
Lakewood ChurchHoustonTX
Lancaster Baptist ChurchLancasterCA
Life ChurchIrvingCA
Life Church of God In ChristRiversideCA
Life TabernacleHoustonTX
LifeBridge Christian ChurchLongmontCO
LifePoint ChurchMindenNV
Lifeway Church MinistriesRancho CucamongaCA
Lilly Grove Missionary Baptist ChurchHoustonTX
Little Country ChurchReddingCA
Living Stones ChurchRenoNV
Living Streams ChurchPhoenixAZ
Loma Linda University ChurchLoma LindaCA
Longview Baptist TempleLongviewTX
Love International MinistriesPhoenixAZ
Loving Word FellowshipHoustonTX
Maranatha ChapelSan DiegoCA
March of Faith MinistriesHoustonTX
Mariners ChurchIrvineCA
McKinney Memorial Bible ChurchFort WorthTX
Menlo Park Presbyterian ChurchMenlo ParkCA
Milestone ChurchKellerTX
Minister io s Bethania USACarrolltonTX
Ministerios Llamada FinalDowneyCA
Mission Community ChurchGilbertAZ
Mission Ebenezer Family ChurchCarsonCA
Mission Hills ChurchLittletonCO
Mobberly Baptist ChurchLongviewTX
Morningstar Christian ChapelWhittierCA
Mount Calvary Baptist ChurchFairfieldCA
Mount Corinth Baptist ChurchHoustonTX
Mount Olive Baptist ChurchArlingtonTX
Mount Sinai Missionary Baptist ChurchAustinTX
Mountain Springs ChurchColorado SpringsCO
Mundo De FeCarrolltonTX
NameLocationState
Neighborhood Church of ReddingReddingCA
Neighborhood Church/Three CrossesCastro ValleyCA
New Birth Baptist ChurchDallasTX
New Birth ChurchPittsburgCA
New Covenant Community ChurchFresnoCA
New Faith ChurchHoustonTX
New Harvest Christian FellowshipNorwalkCA
New Hope ChurchManvelTX
New Hope Missionary Baptist ChurchSan BernardinoCA
New Life CenterBakersfieldCA
New Life ChurchColorado SpringsCO
New Life ChurchAlamoCA
New Life Community ChurchPismo BeachCA
New Light Christian Center ChurchHoustonTX
New Song ChurchCarrolltonTX
New Venture Christian FellowshipOceansideCA
New Vision ChurchMilpitasCA
NewbreakSan DiegoCA
NewSong ChurchIrvineCA
North ChurchCarrolltonTX
North Coast Calvary ChapelCarlsbadCA
North Coast ChurchVistaCA
North Phoenix Baptist ChurchPhoenixAZ
North Scottsdale ChristianScottsdaleAZ
North Valley Baptist ChurchSanta ClaraCA
Northern Hills Christian ChurchBrightonCO
Northside Christian ChurchClovisCA
Northwest ChurchFresnoCA
Northwest Community ChurchPhoenixAZ
NorthWood ChurchKellerTX
Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship ChurchDallasTX
Oak Hills ChurchSan AntonioTX
Oakwood Baptist ChurchNew BraunfelsTX
Oasis ChurchValley VillageCA
One Community ChurchPlanoTX
Orange Hills Assembly of GodOrange HillsCA
Oriental Mission ChurchLos AngelesCA
Overcoming Faith Christian CenterArlingtonTX
Palm Valley ChurchMissionTX
Palm Valley Community ChurchLitchfield ParkAZ
Palmcroft Baptist ChurchPhoenixAZ
Pantano Christian ChurchTucsonAZ
Pantego Bible ChurchFort WorthTX
Paradise Alliance ChurchParadiseCA
Park Cities Baptist ChurchDallasTX
Park Cities Presbyterian ChurchDallasTX
Parkcrest Christian ChurchLong BeachCA
Peoples ChurchFresnoCA
Pilgrim Rest Baptist ChurchPhoenixAZ
Pilgrim Rest Missionary Baptist ChurchDallasTX
Place for LifeSan AntonioTX
Pomona First Baptist ChurchPomonaCA
Potter’s House Church of DenverDenverCO
Prestoncrest Church of ChristDallasTX
Prestonwood Baptist ChurchPlanoTX
PromiseLand ChurchAustinTX
Radiant ChurchSurpriseAZ
Rancho Community ChurchTemeculaCA
Real LifeCorpus ChristiTX
Real Life ChurchValenciaCA
RealityCarpinteriaCA
Red Rocks ChurchGoldenCO
Redemption ChurchTempeAZ
Resurrection FellowshipLovelandCO
Revival Center ModestoModestoCA
Revival Christian FellowshipMenifeeCA
River of Life Christian ChurchSanta ClaraCA
River Pointe ChurchRichmondTX
Riverbend ChurchAustinTX
Riverlakes Community ChurchBakersfieldCA
Rock of RosevilleRosevilleCA
RockHarbor ChurchCosta MesaCA
Rocky Mountain Calvary ChapelColorado SpringsCO
Rocky Mountain Christian ChurchNiwotCO
Rolling Hills Christian ChurchEl Dorado HillsCA
Rolling Hills Covenant ChurchRolling Hills EstatesCA
Saddleback ChurchLake ForestCA
Sagemont ChurchHoustonTX
Saint Andrew’s Presbyterian ChurchNewport BeachCA
Saint John Baptist ChurchGrand PrairieTX
Saint John’s Downtown United Methodist ChurchHoustonTX
Saint John’s Lutheran ChurchOrangeCA
Saint Martin’s Episcopal ChurchHoustonTX
Saint Michael and All Angels EpiscopalDallasTX
Saint Paul Baptist ChurchSacramentoCA
Saintsville Sanctuary Church of God In ChristDallasTX
Sandals ChurchRiversideCA
Santa Cruz Bible ChurchSanta CruzCA
Sarang Community ChurchAnaheimCA
Saturn Road Church of ChristGarlandTX
Scottsdale Bible ChurchScottsdaleAZ
Seacoast Grace ChurchCypressCA
Second Baptist ChurchHoustonTX
Shadow Hills ChurchLas VegasNV
Shadow Mountain Community ChurchEl CajonCA
Shepherd of the Hills ChurchPorter RanchCA
Shoreline Christian CenterAustinTX
Shoreline Community ChurchMontereyCA
Silverlake ChurchPearlandTX
Skyline Wesleyan ChurchLa MesaCA
Sonrise Community Baptist ChurchSanteeCA
South Hills ChurchCoronaCA
South Mountain Community ChurchDraperUT
Southeast Christian ChurchParkerCO
Southwest Community ChurchHoustonTX
Southwest Community ChurchIndian WellsCA
Spring of Life Christian ChurchMesaAZ
St Luke’s United Methodist ChurchHoustonTX
Stonebriar Community ChurchFriscoTX
Stonegate FellowshipMidlandTX
Sugar Creek Baptist ChurchSugar LandTX
Summit Christian CenterSan AntonioTX
Summit Christian ChurchSparksNV
Sun Valley Community ChurchGilbertAZ
Sunnyvale First Baptist ChurchSunnyvaleTX
Sunrise ChurchRialtoCA
Tallowood Baptist ChurchHoustonTX
Temple Bible ChurchTempleTX
Templo Calvario Assembly of GodSanta AnaCA
Thanksgiving ChurchBuena ParkCA
The Austin Stone Community ChurchAustinTX
The BridgeFresnoCA
The Bridge Bible ChurchBakersfieldCA
The Church at Bethel’s FamilyHoustonTX
The Church at Rocky PeakChatsworthCA
The Church at South Las VegasHendersonNV
The Church on Rush CreekAldingtonTX
The Church on the WayVan NuysCA
The Community of FaithHoustonTX
The CrossingCosta MesaCA
The Crossing A Christian ChurchLas VegasNV
The Dream Center / Angelus TempleLos AngelesCA
The Father’s HouseVacavilleCA
The Foundry United Methodist ChurchHoustonTX
The Fountain of PraiseHoustonTX
The Grove Community ChurchRiversideCA
The Heights Baptist ChurchRichardsonTX
The Heights ChurchPrescottAZ
The Hills Church of ChristNorth Richland HillsTX
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Alan MacLeod is Senior Staff Writer for MintPress News. He completed his PhD in 2017 and has since authored two acclaimed books: Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent, as well as a number of academic articles. He has also contributed to FAIR.org, The Guardian, Salon, The Grayzone, Jacobin Magazine, and Common Dreams. Follow Alan on Twitter for more of his work and commentary: @AlanRMacLeod.


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Is Israel’s Hebron Planning Takeover A Blueprint For West Bank Annexation? – Analysis



June 26, 2026 
Arab News
By Sherouk Zakaria


Key Takeaways

Israel stripped Hebron’s Palestinian Municipality of planning powers in the strategic H2 area, handing control to Israeli authorities — seen as a violation of the 1997 Hebron Protocol.

The move is viewed as a major step toward de facto annexation of the West Bank, accelerating settlement expansion and further weakening the Oslo Accords.

Hebron could become a blueprint for transferring more Palestinian administrative powers to Israel across the West Bank.

The decision undermines the Palestinian Authority’s legitimacy, worsens daily life for residents in H2, and highlights the limits of international legal recourse.



The decision by Israeli authorities to strip Hebron Municipality of its planning and construction powers in parts of the city’s historic center has triggered fresh concerns over the future of the Oslo Accords peace framework and the prospects for Palestinian statehood.

Palestinian officials and analysts warned that the move amounts to another step toward de facto annexation of the occupied West Bank, depriving Palestinians of land they claim for a future state.

Last week, Israel’s finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, announced that the Higher Planning Council within the Israeli Civil Administration would take over planning, zoning and construction decisions in Hebron’s H2 area, which is home to the Ibrahimi Mosque, known to Jews as the Tomb of the Patriarchs, and an enclave of Israeli settlers in the heart of the city.

The following day, Israeli authorities approved construction plans for a new Jewish school in the city center, and new homes in Israeli settlements.

The move strips Hebron Municipality of one of the key civil powers granted to Palestinians in the H2 area under the 1997 Hebron Protocol, an agreement signed by the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the chair of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Yasser Arafat, as part of the Oslo Accords peace process that divided the West Bank between Palestinian and Israelis.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry insisted that the Hebron Agreement remained in force but observers said the decision served as the latest illustration of a decades-long process of Israeli expansionism in the occupied territory, and the steady erosion of the substance of the Oslo Accords.

Jaser AbuMousa, a Palestinian political analyst and senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, swaid the “architecture” of the Oslo Accords has been dismantled over 30 years “not through dramatic formal revocation, but through incremental administrative decisions that empty the agreements of their operative content while preserving them as formal shells.”

He told Arab News: “It converts a de facto (in fact) situation into a de jure (by law) one, and that conversion is how Israel has consistently transformed temporary occupation measures into permanent sovereign arrangements.”

At the heart of the dispute lies Hebron’s Old City and the Ibrahimi Mosque, a flashpoint for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Under the Hebron Protocol, Israeli troops remain deployed in H2, but any construction plans, including around the shrine, have generally required approval by the Palestinian municipality.

Meanwhile H1, which comprises about 80 percent of the city, is administered by the Palestinian Authority.



H2 is home to approximately 80,000 Palestinians, including about 7,000 residents of Hebron’s Old City who live alongside about 1,000 Israeli settlers concentrated around the Ibrahimi Mosque and nearby compounds that are under complete Israeli security control.

AbuMousa said that the removal of Palestinian planning authority clears the administrative path for the further expansion of settlements and the infrastructure that serves the settler population, while increasing the physical constrictions on Palestinians living in H2, which is already one of the most heavily restricted areas in the occupied West Bank.

“For Palestinians, it confirms that even their most sacred sites are not beyond the reach of the settlement project,” said AbuMousa.

The restrictions on everyday life are already clear. Palestinians in the Old City must navigate a network of more than 120 checkpoints and gates. Main roads, including Shuhada Street, remain largely closed to Palestinian traffic. Commercial activity is heavily constrained, and daily movement is tightly controlled by Israeli security measures.

The move in Hebron is the latest in a broader campaign led by Smotrich that aims to deepen what he has described as “practical sovereignty” and entrench Israeli rule over the West Bank.

Since October 2023, Israel has established about 200 new outposts and approved 102 new settlements as part of a process that Smotrich has repeatedly declared is intended to prevent the creation of a Palestinian state.

In a statement to Arab News, Hebron’s mayor, Yousef Al-Jabari, said the latest decision would worsen living conditions for residents who already live under strict Israeli military rule, and are subject to a curfew that is imposed two days a week, as well as restrictions on movement by car or on foot.

He said the municipality planned to challenge the decision through international courts and has launched diplomatic outreach efforts through Palestinian representatives and ambassadors worldwide in an attempt to rally regional and international opposition.

“People often have to park their cars several kilometers from their homes and walk the rest of the way, sometimes carrying groceries and other essentials,” Al-Jabari said.

“They are unable to build or expand their homes and are routinely subjected to settler violence, including attacks on their homes and schools.”


He condemned the move by Israeli authorities as a violation of the Hebron Protocol and international agreements signed under US sponsorship.

“Smotrich’s decision aims to find legal ways to seize more of the municipality’s buildings and diminish our services, but we will continue providing services for our people in H2,” Al-Jabari told Arab News.

He accused Israel of attempting to alter the very character of Hebron’s Old City, recognized by UNESCO since 2017 as a Palestinian World Heritage Site, and the Ibrahimi Mosque, both of which hold deep religious, cultural and historical significance for the Palestinian people.

Al-Jabari also called for the reinstatement of the Temporary International Presence in Hebron, an international observer mission that was established in 1994 and terminated by Israeli authorities in 2019, saying its return was needed to help protect the rights of Palestinians living in H2.



In a statement last week, the Palestinian Authority condemned the seizure of powers by Israel as an “infringement upon the political and legal status of Hebron” and a violation of international law.

AbuMousa warned that the move threatened not only to undermine the Palestinian Authority’s legitimacy and erode public confidence in its ability to govern, but also to accelerate the process of de facto annexation in H2.

Hebron is particularly significant for the Palestinian Authority, he said, because the Hebron Protocol granted the municipality highly visible, day-to-day responsibilities, from garbage collection to the issuing of building permits and planning approvals.

“These are not abstract diplomatic competencies, they are tangible services,” AbuMousa said. “When that authority is removed and the PA can do nothing but issue a statement of condemnation, the message to ordinary Palestinians is clear: the institutional path does not work.”

Under the new planning regime, he said, the expansion of settlements and outposts was likely to accelerate, with new housing and infrastructure integrated with the existing settlement of Kiryat Arba on the eastern outskirts of Hebron, and the broader settlement network.

At the same time, Palestinian construction projects could be restricted or denied permission, gradually reshaping the demographic and physical landscape of the area, following the model of East Jerusalem.

“The settler population will grow,” said AbuMousa. “It has political incentives, subsidized housing and strong ideological commitment.

“The Palestinian population of H2 will likely shrink through the cumulative pressure of movement restrictions, demolition orders, settler violence and the daily reality of living under a system designed to encourage departure.”

In the absence of an international presence to constrain this trajectory, AbuMousa warned that within a few years H2 could begin to resemble East Jerusalem: a territory that remains occupied under international law but in practice is governed as an extension of Israeli sovereignty, with a residual Palestinian population that is left with no institutional representation, no planning authority and few effective mechanisms to defend its rights.


The implications extend beyond Hebron itself, however. Left unchallenged by the international community, the decision could establish a model for the transfer of additional powers from Palestinian institutions to Israeli authorities elsewhere in the West Bank, including Area B, which is administered by the Palestinian Authority under a system of shared security control with Israel, established under the 1995 Oslo II Accord.

While Palestinians have several legal and diplomatic avenues available to challenge the decision, AbuMousa said none of them have a track record of success in reversing developments on the ground.

International courts and UN bodies consider Israel’s settlements in the territory illegal under international law, but they lack enforcement mechanisms, while diplomatic efforts are often constrained by geopolitical realities.

“Palestinians have accumulated an extraordinary body of international legal opinion affirming their rights,” AbuMousa said. “What they lack is any mechanism to translate legal recognition into legal protection.”


About Arab News
Arab News is Saudi Arabia's first English-language newspaper. It was founded in 1975 by Hisham and Mohammed Ali Hafiz. Today, it is one of 29 publications produced by Saudi Research & Publishing Company (SRPC), a subsidiary of Saudi Research & Marketing Group (SRMG).
View all posts by Arab News →

 

Source: Al Jazeera

Norway’s government says it plans to ban all trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, and has announced consultation on a proposal for a new bill prohibiting such transactions.

The Norwegian government wants to ban trade in goods produced in illegal Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian lands, including Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Regarding real estate, Oslo also plans to outlaw “the purchase of property in the settlements, the provision of services relating to the construction, renovation, purchase or sale of property in these areas, and the acquisition of commercial enterprises whose head office and production facilities are located in the settlements”, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

“The settlements undermine the basis for a Palestinian state. Norwegian citizens and Norwegian companies must not contribute to maintaining this development. With this legislative proposal, the government takes a clear stance and puts forward rules that set firm limits for Norwegian trade and business activities,” Eide added.

Norway, which is not a member of the European Union, recognised the state of Palestine in 2024, at the same time as EU members Ireland and Spain did. The Israeli government lashed out by quickly withdrawing its ambassadors from Oslo, Dublin and Madrid and summoning the Norwegian, Irish and Spanish representatives in Tel Aviv.

Last week, Norway joined five other countries, the UK, Australia, Canada, France and New Zealand in imposing coordinated sanctions targeting networks involved in financing, enabling and carrying out settler violence against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank

“The settlements and the serious abuses committed by violent settlers are making the situation in the West Bank increasingly untenable. Civilians are being killed, the economy is being strangled, and local communities are being destroyed. This must stop,” added Eide.

The Norwegian government has drafted the bill about the trade ban with Israeli settlements, which is now being circulated for consultations for the next three months, until September 19.

In response to the bill’s announcement, Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territory, said, “A small step, the smallest step, but it’s a beginning.”

“Norway still has to answer this: how can a country that champions human rights, allow its vast sovereign wealth fund, one of the largest in the world, to invest in entities linked to an occupation the ICJ has found illegal?”

The rights experts said this in regards to Norway’s $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund, which owns stakes in 8,700 companies worldwide, including several Israeli companies, although last year,  Norway said it was divesting from 11 Israeli companies and that it was continuing to review divesting from more.


This article was originally published by Al Jazeera; please consider supporting the original publication, and read the original version at the link above.

ZOONOSIS

There is a significant risk of Ebola spillover into South Sudan, WHO study warns

A health worker checks an individual's temperature at a temporary health clinic at the Mpondwe border crossing linking Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Copyright AP Photo/Hajarah Nalwadda


By Giedre Peseckyte
Published on

There is a 70% chance that Ebola could reach South Sudan, according to a World Health Organization modelling study published on Thursday. Researchers said that preparing the country for a proper response is the “most urgent priority.”

With over 1,000 confirmed cases and over 260 deaths, the current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has already spread to neighbouring Uganda. Now, the WHO estimates there is a high likelihood it could reach South Sudan, according to a modelling study published in The Lancet.

The rare strain — Bundibugyo ebolavirus — has already reached Uganda, which has recorded 20 confirmed cases, two confirmed deaths, and one probable death.

South Sudan is considered the next most at risk, with researchers warning it has “some of the weakest public health infrastructure in the region,” citing gaps in case management, contact tracing, safe burial, and border surveillance.

“South Sudan must continue to reinforce infection prevention and control, rapid response capacity, and cross-border surveillance,” researchers said.

Other neighbouring countries, Rwanda and Burundi remain at comparatively low risk of getting Ebola cases.

“In the absence of a vaccine against the Bundibugyo strain … neighboring countries should implement public health measures now, such as border surveillance, contact tracing, and safe burial practices,” authors said, urging authorities to strengthen their response.

The researchers also estimated that the outbreak began spreading in communities in a region already destabilised by conflict, displacement and limited access to healthcare, and went undetected in early April 2026 — around six weeks before it was officially identified by WHO and declared a public health emergency.



As Ebola spreads in war-torn eastern Congo, faith leaders adapt
(RNS) — As conflict and a deadly Ebola outbreak compound suffering in eastern Congo, pastors and church leaders are adapting worship, pastoral care and funeral traditions while helping communities navigate fear and misinformation.

A Catholic priest prays during the burial ceremony of Vanisa Anifa, a 6-month-old orphaned girl who died of Ebola, in Bunia, Congo, Friday, June 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
Tonny Onyulo
June 24, 2026
RNS

NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) — For nearly two years, evangelical preacher Francis Mbombo traveled from house to house and through displacement camps in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, praying with families uprooted by conflict and comforting those grieving loved ones lost to years of civil war.

Then Ebola struck.

When authorities imposed restrictions on gatherings to curb the spread of the deadly virus, Mbombo was forced to suspend much of his ministry. He worried about the people he had built spiritual connections with and wondered how they would cope without prayer, counseling and the physical presence of their church community.



“When I heard about the Ebola outbreak, I was shocked,” Mbombo told RNS. “I felt like my mission had come to an end.”

The highly contagious and often fatal virus has compounded the suffering of communities still trying to recover from years of armed conflict. Families that lost relatives during the violence now fear losing loved ones to disease, while restrictions aimed at containing Ebola have made it difficult for churches to comfort the sick and accompany grieving families.

Instead of visiting congregants, Mbombo now relies on phone calls and text messages to encourage them. Last week, he prayed over the phone with a church member whose child was gravely ill. The family was still mourning another child who had died during the conflict in Goma a year earlier.

“I have to make sure they hear the word of God and know they are not alone,” he said. “But making calls every day is expensive, especially for people who cannot read messages.”



The families of victims mourn at the funeral service for civilians killed in a drone strike in Goma, Congo, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

Eastern Congo has endured years of violence between government forces and armed groups, including the AFC-M23 rebel alliance, leaving thousands dead and forcing millions from their homes. Cities such as Goma and Bukavu have become refuges for displaced families. Many depend on churches and faith communities for shelter, emotional support and financial stability.

Congolese authorities declared the latest Ebola outbreak on May 15, and health officials say it has spread rapidly across the country. As of Tuesday (June 23), 1,048 confirmed cases and 267 deaths had been reported, making it “the largest number of confirmed cases in the first month of an Ebola disease outbreak in Africa,” according to Dr. Abdirahman Mahamud, director of Health Emergency Alert and Response Operations at the World Health Organization, who recently returned from a monthlong mission in the DRC.


RELATED: Faith leaders go door to door in Congo preaching peace amid renewed war

The outbreak is centered in Ituri province but has spread to neighboring North Kivu and South Kivu, regions already struggling with conflict and mass displacement. Cases linked to the outbreak have also been detected across the border in Uganda, prompting regional health authorities to strengthen surveillance and screening efforts.

Unlike the more common Zaire strain of Ebola, the current Bundibugyo strain has no licensed vaccine or approved therapeutic treatment. International agencies, including the World Health Organization and Doctors Without Borders, have expanded surveillance, treatment and community awareness efforts, but insecurity, population displacement and funding shortages continue to complicate the response.



The Democratic Republic of the Congo in central Africa. (Map courtesy of Wikimedia/Creative Commons)

Pastor Albert Nswadi of Goma International Pentecostal Church said the outbreak has forced churches to suspend services and midweek fellowship meetings, where members gathered in one another’s homes to pray and encourage each other.

“Everything has been suspended, and this has affected our faith community,” Nswadi said.

The changes have been especially painful during times of mourning. Nswadi recalled that one of his congregants was suspected of dying from Ebola in late May, but many church members were afraid to attend the burial because of the risk of infection.

“It was very painful as a church not to go and bury one of us,” he said. “Some people took the risk, and we thank God they were not infected. We pray that God continues protecting our people and having mercy on eastern Congo, where people are already facing another tragedy after years of war.”

The outbreak has also created unexpected pastoral challenges as religious leaders try to balance faith with public health advice.



According to Nswadi, many believers initially struggled to understand the disease.
RELATED: Samaritan’s Purse to open Ebola field hospital in Democratic Republic of the Congo


“Some people think Ebola is the work of the devil and believe they can simply pray over it and continue interacting freely because God protected them during the war,” he said. “We are trying to create awareness and help people understand the danger.”

The Catholic Church has also urged Christians to take the outbreak seriously.

In a pastoral exhortation shared with RNS, Archbishop Xavier Maroy Rusengo of Bukavu called on the faithful to strictly observe Ebola prevention measures recommended by health authorities and encouraged pastoral workers to implement them during Eucharistic celebrations and other church gatherings.



Family members of an Ebola victim mourn as the coffin is taken away for burial, at Sofepadi Hospital in Bunia, Congo, May 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

The archbishop also urged church-run schools and health facilities to enforce the measures while offering prayers and pastoral support to those affected by the epidemic and to the health workers risking their lives to care for patients. He encouraged Christians not to lose hope despite the combined challenges of insecurity and disease.

“Let us not lose courage,” the archbishop wrote. “Let us place our full trust in God … and not give in to fear.”

For Mbombo, however, the greatest challenge is finding new ways to minister to people carrying the burdens of both war and disease.

His calling has always been to walk alongside families in their darkest moments, praying with them in their homes and offering hope to those struggling with loss. Today, much of that ministry happens over the phone.

He believes the people of eastern Congo need spiritual support now more than ever as they confront yet another crisis.

“Our people have suffered because of war, and now they are facing Ebola,” Mbombo said. “They need hope now more than ever.”




Venezuela suffers effects of Trump’s aid, foreign policies after deadly quakes


Issued on: 26/06/2026 -

President Donald Trump’s closure of US development agency USAID adds hurdles to humanitarian relief efforts in quake-hit Venezuela, says Christopher Sabatini, Latin America Programme Director at Chatham House. “Right now, the Trump administration has to coordinate a multi-agency effort when in fact, an agency that already existed could have done that much more efficiently," notes Sabatini.

Video by: 
FRANCE 24




EU sends rescue teams, medical staff to Venezuela

26.06.2026, dpa

Relief flights following the earthquake in Venezuela - Emergency responders board a transport plane at the Wunstorf Air Force Base. Following the devastating earthquakes in Venezuela, nearly 50 emergency responders from the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) are flying to the disaster area.  (is associated with: «EU sends rescue teams, medical staff to Venezuela»)

Photo: Kai Moorschlatt/dpa

The European Union is sending rescue teams and other emergency assistance to Venezuela to help with the emergency situation caused by twin earthquakes earlier this week.

"I thank all the member states for their solidarity and speed - sending firefighters, rescue dogs, medical staff and other forms of assistance," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday.

More than 520 responders from 8 EU countries, including Germany, have been mobilized after an appeal by Venezuela for help from the EU, a press release said.

In addition, Italy is sending a medical team and Luxembourg is providing telecommunication, shelter and energy equipment.

The EU is also providing satellite imagery and other geospatial data from the Copernicus satellite service free of charge to Venezuela.


US Supreme Court sides with Bayer, blocking thousands of cancer lawsuits against popular weedkiller


The US Supreme Court on Thursday sided with Bayer in a ruling expected to block thousands of lawsuits claiming its Roundup weedkiller caused cancer by failing to carry adequate warning labels. The decision hands a victory to President Donald Trump's administration but drew backlash from allies in the "Make America Healthy Again" movement.


Issued on: 26/06/2026 -
By: FRANCE 24


Shares of Bayer jumped after the Supreme Court ruled in its favor in longrunning litigation of weedkiller Roundup 
© Tobias Schwarz, AFP


The Supreme Court sided with the maker of Roundup weedkiller Thursday in a ruling expected to block thousands of lawsuits alleging it failed to warn people the product could cause cancer.

The case came before the justices after a tidal wave of litigation that included some multibillion-dollar verdicts against Bayer, a German agrochemical manufacturer that acquired Roundup’s original producer, Monsanto, in 2018.

The decision is a victory for President Donald Trump's administration, which argued in support of Bayer. But it provoked outrage from allies in the “ Make America Healthy Again” movement who want to rein in pesticide use.

The high court, in a 7-2 ruling, held that Roundup cannot be sued in state courts for failure to warn because federal regulators have found a cancer link unlikely and do not require a warning label. Federal law also bars states from imposing additional or different labeling requirements, the opinion from Justice Brett Kavanaugh states.


Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, joined by Neil Gorsuch, dissented, saying that Monsanto could have added a warning without violating federal law.

Though focused on Roundup, the ruling could affect similar health claims against other pesticide products.

“This decision is good for American farmers who help feed the world," Bayer CEO Bill Anderson said. ”It provides the regulatory clarity necessary for innovators like us to develop the agricultural tools that guarantee an affordable food supply.”

Though Bayer said the ruling should result in the dismissal of failure-to-warn lawsuits, the company said it plans to proceed with a proposed $7.25 billion class-action settlement intended to resolve many of the remaining claims.

The ruling was denounced by environmental groups and lawyers representing people who believe they were harmed by Roundup.

“This Supreme Court ruling wrongly slams the courthouse door on Americans sickened by pesticides," said attorney Christopher Seeger, who is a claimant’s representative in the settlement. But he said a settlement still would allow some people to receive compensation.

The decision “is a tragic setback for public and environmental health”, said Jay Feldman, executive director of Beyond Pesticides, a health and environmental group.

The case before the Supreme Court was filed by Missouri resident John Durnell. He developed a cancer called non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma after more than 20 years of serving as the neighbourhood association’s “spray guy”, using Roundup on parks in his historic St. Louis community.

A jury agreed that the company failed to warn him about possible cancer dangers and awarded him $1.25 million. But Durnell never received the money as his case was appealed. Durnell, 75, said Thursday that his cancer is in remission, and he will be fine without the money.

But “there are thousands of cases that are like mine that will not see court now", Durnell said. "So that is the biggest disappointment for me.”

There is still fierce debate about whether Roundup’s key ingredient, glyphosate, causes cancer. The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer classified the chemical as “probably carcinogenic” in 2015. The Environmental Protection Agency has determined that it’s not likely to cause cancer in humans when used as directed.

The agency approved a label without a cancer warning, and Bayer argued that it was required to follow those federal standards. The Supreme Court agreed, ruling that separate warning requirements cannot be compelled by state laws and courts. The ruling still leaves room for other lawsuits alleging problems with the product’s design, and Durnell said he is considering bringing a new case on different grounds.

Bayer disputes the cancer claims but previously set aside $16 billion to settle cases, and earlier this year proposed a $7.25 billion class-action settlement. A federal judge recently ruled that the proposed settlement will be heard in a Missouri state court, where many of the lawsuits have been filed.

At the same time, Bayer has tried to persuade states to pass laws shielding it from liability in failure-to-warn lawsuits. North Dakota was the first to do so, followed by Georgia and Kentucky.

About 200,000 Roundup-related claims have been made against Bayer, mostly from home users. It has stopped using glyphosate in Roundup sold in the US residential lawn and garden market.

The company had said it might have to consider pulling glyphosate from US agricultural markets if it keeps getting sued. Agricultural industry groups have said Roundup is important for a strong food supply.

"Today's decision protects our access to the tools that let us care for our soil, protect our crops, and keep food affordable for your family and mine,” said Blake Hurst, a corn and soybean farmer who is a former president of the Missouri Farm Bureau.

Pesticides have created a rift between the administration and members of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s MAHA movement, who were frustrated by an executive order aimed at boosting glyphosate’s production.

Kennedy has said repeatedly that glyphosate causes cancer, even as he says he recognizes the executive order was necessary for food supply and national security reasons.


After the high court's decision on Thursday, prominent MAHA activist Kelly Ryerson, known to her supporters as “Glyphosate Girl,” called the Trump administration's participation in the case “unforgivable.”

Some health advocates contend the EPA's approval of glyphosate-based weedkillers was based on limited information and that lawsuits in state courts have turned up additional evidence against it.

“The fact that EPA approved a pesticide label does not mean a product is safe, and it should not become a shield for companies that fail to warn about cancer risks, neurological harm, and other serious dangers,” said Patti Goldman, senior attorney at Earthjustice, an environmental legal organisation.


(FRANCE 24 with AP)