Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have been coming out into the streets for the past three months in escalating pro-democracy protests against the most politically and religiously extreme right-wing government Israel has ever had.

In a statement condemning the attack against a Christian site—the fifth in Jerusalem in five weeks—the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land said it was following the incident “with concern."

The latest boutique hotel to open its doors in Bethlehem’s Old City, just minutes away from Manger Square, is the Morcos Nassar Palace, which doubles as a humanitarian project unique in Palestine and possibly in the Arab world.

Mere “survival should not be the utmost ambition for a people in democratic countries, but rather prosperity and welfare. I believe that Israel is going to be more Jewish and much less democratic, and we’ll all pay the price for that.”

“Jerusalem, especially the Old City with its shrines holy to Muslims, Jews and Christians, is like a powder keg waiting to explode! However, until it does explode, many prefer to simply ignore it.”

Israelis will go to the polls on Nov. 1 for the fifth time in less than four years. Will the elections bring any significant change in this divided country, or offer any hope for a resolution to the more than 70-year-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict?