Faith-Based Daily Awareness Post 20 May 2024

These updates are shared to help raise the situational awareness of Faith-Based organizations to best defend against and mitigate the impacts from all-hazards threats including physical security, cybersecurity, and natural disasters.

Protests Continue, Potential to Escalate After Several Significant International Events Over Weekend.

Six people have been arrested after pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian demonstrations clashed in Melbourne’s CBD on Sunday afternoon, while 40 were arrested on Saturday after NYPD clashed with anti-Israel protesters in Brooklyn. Protests related to the ongoing war between Israel and HAMAS are expected to continue across the globe, particularly given several key events which unfolded over the weekend.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and the country’s foreign minister were found dead Monday hours after their helicopter crashed in fog, leaving the Islamic Republic without two key leaders as extraordinary tensions grip the wider Middle East. Countries including Russia, Iraq and Qatar have made formal statements of concern about Raisi’s fate. Israeli officials have declared they were not involved with the crash.

Additionally, The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor announced on Monday that he is seeking arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and three Hamas leaders over alleged war crimes. “Based on evidence collected and examined by my Office, I have reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant, bear criminal responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on the territory of the State of Palestine (in the Gaza strip) from at least 8 October 2023,” ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said in his statement.

Analyst Comments:

Both of these incidents can be seen as triggers for potential escalation of either events in Gaza, or for the global protest movement.