It sometimes seems that Israelis are more concerned about persecuted Christians in the Middle East than Christians in the West. Instead of arguing about Christmas, Seth Frantzman, op-ed editor of the Jerusalem Post, wonders how the radically dwindled community of Christians in Iraq are going to celebrate it.

With ISIS under attack by the Russian coalition in Syria and the US coalition in Iraq, it should be on the run. Instead it is on the offense, launching a terror attack in Cairo yesterday. That attack could be the first strike in Islamic State's promised holiday terror campaign throughout the Middle East - and beyond.

The US-led coalition to liberate Mosul from ISIS has petered out. ISIS leaders and troops are strolling back into town without a fight. Meanwhile in Aleppo, ISIS is on the run from a Moscow-Tehran coalition. Why has the US op failed? And when Trump inherits the problem, Jerusalem wonders, will he turn the entire fight against Islamic State over to Putin, and by default Iran?

In the aftermath of last week's Israeli intelligence reports, US officials have placed parts of the US on high alert. The unspecified threat probably refers to terror attacks by al-Qaida, ISIS and cyber security attacks by any number of hacking entities - but with a special eye on Moscow.

Al-Baghdadi's summons was probably a coded signal to dormant ISIS cells in the West, activating them for an international outburst of suicide terror attacks - including one on 8 November in the USA?