The Syriac Catholic community received a free lease for 49 years on Sacre Coeur, a church in Istanbul's waterfront district of Bebek. Officials from the state-run Directorate General of Foundations signed a protocol with a foundation representing the community. Churches and other places of worship are run by foundations under Turkish laws.

A U.S. Christian pastor on trial in Turkey on terrorism charges left prison on Wednesday after a court ruled he should be transferred to house arrest, a step that could help reduce tension between the NATO allies.

Leaders of the Druze community in Israel have voiced their anger with the Israeli Jewish-nation state law which was voted into law last week, describing it as “betrayal” following the sacrifices they made for Israel, Safa news agency reported yesterday.

The head of the Maronite Church in Lebanon has demanded that world leaders help re-build Middle East countries torn apart by internal and antiterrorism wars.

Bishop Krikor Chiftjian, the Prelate of the Diocese of Iran’s East and West Azarbaijan provinces, has referred to Iran as a great model for peaceful coexistence among monotheistic religions in the world.

Iranian authorities have ruled that members of religious minorities living in the country can be elected as members of city and village councils, reaffirming an existing law that had been rejected by the Guardian Council.

The cardinal has labeled the law as "ignoble, anti-democratic and anti-pluralist". An appeal to the UN to guarantee the rights of Palestinians according to international decisions.

The government of Iraq has approved a proposal by Yezidi activists to convert a village school in to a museum commemorating the genocide of Yezidis by ISIS, according to Time Guardian.
In 2014 ISIS launched an attack on Shingal, Kurdistan and its surrounding areas, kidnapping more than 6500 Yezidis.

A company whose owners include Shlomo Dery, who is brother to the interior minister and also deputy chairman of the Jewish National Fund, has bought the lease on a residential area of Jerusalem from the Catholic Church.

Dozens of buses on Wednesday entered two government loyalist towns under siege from rebels in the northwest province of Idlib, as part of a deal to evacuate residents to government-controlled areas, according to state news agency, SANA.

The Episcopal Church in the United States has approved a resolution that will establish human rights screening of companies in Israel and Palestine.

Last week, Netanyahu lifted 3-year ban on government officials and Knesset members visiting Al-Aqsa compound.