Israel advances plans for a massive 9,000-unit ultra-Orthodox neighborhood in East Jerusalem, marking the first major construction beyond the internationally recognized 1967 border in three decades. The Atarot project, critics warn, could drive a permanent wedge through any future Palestinian state and entrench Israeli control over contested territory that remains central to peace negotiations.
The Jerusalem District Planning Committee is expected to approve the plan in coming weeks, according to Israeli officials. The neighborhood would rise on land that international law considers occupied territory, where the United Nations and most world governments oppose Israeli settlement construction. Palestinian Authority officials have condemned the move as a deliberate sabotage of the two-state solution, while Israeli housing advocates argue the construction addresses urgent demographic needs for the ultra-Orthodox community.
Tensions across the region show no signs of easing. Israeli forces shot dead a 16-year-old Palestinian in the West Bank town of Tuqu' on Tuesday, following the funeral of another teenager killed earlier. The UN reports settler violence against Palestinians has reached record levels since October 2023. Meanwhile, Israel denied entry to a Canadian parliamentary delegation seeking to meet with Palestinian officials and human rights advocates—a move that prompted calls from advocacy groups for sanctions against the Jewish state.
In London, British authorities charged two suspected Hezbollah members with terrorism offenses, including attending training at a Hezbollah-controlled camp. The men allegedly expressed support for both Hezbollah and Hamas, underscoring the persistent reach of Iranian-backed militant networks into Western nations. The charges come as Hamas signals interest in resuming indirect negotiations with Israel over the Gaza ceasefire, though the terrorist organization remains dissatisfied with what it characterizes as American contradictions regarding recent military operations.
The financial architecture underpinning global commerce continues its rapid transformation. Germany launched a sandbox environment this week for testing its European Union Digital Identity Wallet, part of a continent-wide rollout expected by 2027. The EUDI Wallet will enable citizens to verify their identity digitally across borders—a development that raises both efficiency promises and surveillance concerns. Simultaneously, SITA deployed passenger biometric systems in Angola while India considers facial recognition for airport bag drops, extending the reach of digital identity infrastructure across Asia and Africa.
Stablecoin infrastructure accelerates on multiple fronts. Ripple announced plans to expand its RLUSD stablecoin onto Ethereum Layer-2 networks through a partnership with Wormhole, targeting broader blockchain integration by 2026. StraitsX partnered with the Solana Foundation to launch USD and Singapore dollar stablecoins for cross-border settlements. Mastercard joined Abu Dhabi's ADI Foundation to advance stablecoin payments in the UAE. Even Russia's largest bank, Sberbank, has begun testing decentralized finance products—a striking development given Western sanctions.
JPMorgan's launch of its first tokenized money market fund on Ethereum signals that traditional finance's embrace of blockchain technology has moved from experimental to operational. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's approval of conditional bank charters for crypto firms including Ripple, Circle, and BitGo drew sharp criticism from banking lobbyists who view stablecoins as existential threats to traditional deposit-taking institutions.
The prophet Daniel wrote of a time when knowledge would increase and many would run to and fro across the earth. Today's convergence of digital identity systems, programmable money, and territorial conflicts in the Holy Land presents a landscape that would have seemed fantastical even a decade ago. Whether these developments lead toward peace or tribulation, the infrastructure for unprecedented global coordination—and control—advances daily. Watch Jerusalem, as the prophets advised, but also watch the digital rails being laid beneath the surface of ordinary commerce.