Middle East Press On: Gazans War, Palestinians, Hostages, Saudi Normalisation: New Age Islam's Selection, 21 October 2025
By New Age Islam Edit Desk
21 October 2025
Ordinary Gazans Explain How They Won The War
Elections May Make Or Break Palestinian National Movement
Beware The Spoilers Of The Gaza Peace Plan
The Crumbling Illusion: Why American Public Opinion On Israel Is Shifting
Double Standards On Gaza: Calling On Universities To Pledge To Responsible Investment
A Strategic Analysis Of Why Gaza Resistance Thwarted Israel’s Military Objectives
Israel Needs To Take Tough Gaza Decisions Which May Test Bonds Of US Relationship
Equating Palestinian Prisoners, Israeli Hostages: The Necessity Of Having A Moral Compass
Trump's Gaza Plan: Prelude To Saudi Normalisation
-----
Ordinary Gazans Explain How They Won The War
Dr. Ramzy Baroud
October 20, 2025
For the last two years, my social media algorithm has been relentlessly dominated by Gaza, particularly the voices of ordinary Gazans, displaying a blend of emotions that center on two core principles: grief and defiance.
Grief has characterized life in Gaza for many years, a consequence of successive Israeli wars, the unrelenting siege and habitual bombardment. The last two years, marked by genocide and famine, however, have redefined that grief in a way that is almost incomprehensible to the Palestinians themselves.
Yes, Palestine has endured numerous massacres before, during and since the Nakba — the tragic destruction of the Palestinian homeland. But those massacres were typically episodic, each distinctively marked by specific historical circumstances. Each is incorporated into the collective psyche as proof of Israeli barbarity, but also as a demonstration of Palestinians’ own enduring resilience as a people.
I grew up in a Gaza refugee camp, where we commemorated each massacre with rallies, general strikes and artistic expressions. We knew the victims and immortalized them through chants, political graffiti, poetry and the like.
The war of extermination committed by Israel against Gaza in the last two years has fundamentally changed all of that. In just 24 hours across Oct. 23-24, 2023, the Israeli army killed 704 Palestinians, including 120 in the Jabaliya refugee camp alone. Single bombs annihilated hundreds, often in hospitals, refugee shelters or UN schools. Massacres were taking place every day, everywhere.
There was no time to reflect on any of these massacres, to pray for the victims or even to bury them with dignity. All Gazans could do was desperately try to cling to life itself, bury their loved ones in mass graves and use their bare hands to dig the wounded and dead out from under the massive slabs of concrete and mountains of rubble. Thousands remain unaccounted for, while about a quarter of a million Gazans have been killed or wounded.
The tally will continue to grow and the degree of devastation keeps worsening, even now that the rate of killing has subsided. Why, then, does my social media feed continue to show Palestinians openly celebrating their victory? Why are Gaza’s children, though gaunt and exhausted due to the famine, continuing to perform traditional “dabke” dances? Why is 5-year-old Maria Hannoun, one of Gaza’s many influencers, continuing to recite the poetry of Mahmoud Darwish and send fiery messages to US President Donald Trump that Gaza will never be defeated?
To say that “Gazans are built differently” is a massive understatement. I have spent the last 20 years dedicated to academic research on the people’s history of Palestine, focusing heavily on Gaza, and I still find their collective will astonishing. They seem to have made a shared, conscious decision: the metrics for their defeat or victory will be entirely separate from those used by the media covering the war.
These measures are rooted in resistance as a foundational choice. Core values like “karamah” (dignity), “izza” (pride), and “sabr” (patience) are the standards by which Gaza judges its performance. And, by these profound standards, the people of the genocide and famine-stricken Strip have won this war.
Because these values are often ignored or misinterpreted in media coverage of the war, many have found Gaza’s response to the ceasefire — unbridled joy and celebration — confusing. The scene of mothers waiting for their sons to be released in a large celebration in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, was particularly illuminating. They cried bitterly, while clapping and ululating all at once. One mother perfectly clarified the paradox for a reporter: the tears were for the sons and daughters killed in the war, and the ululation was for those being released.
The news media, however, rarely understands the complexity of the Gaza survival paradigm. Some, including Israeli military analysts, have concluded that Benjamin Netanyahu has lost the war because he failed to achieve any of his declared objectives. Others speak of some kind of Israeli victory simply because it managed to obliterate nearly the whole of Gaza and a large section of its populace.
Each side uses numbers to back up its claims. Yet, the Palestinians in Gaza view this situation in a fundamentally different way. They understand that Israel’s war was ultimately an attempt to destroy their peoplehood — to shatter their spirit, disorient their culture, turn them against one another and ultimately eradicate the essence of being Palestinian.
Gazans celebrate because they know Israel has failed. The Palestinian nation has emerged even more deeply rooted in its identity, both in Gaza and elsewhere. The child singing of the martyrs, the civil defense workers dancing the dabke for their fallen comrades and the woman using the wreckage of a destroyed Israeli Merkava tank to air her laundry — all these images speak of a nation unified by its love for life and its fierce commitment to shared values of valor, honor and love.
Some analysts, trying to find a more nuanced and reasoned conclusion, have resolved that neither Israel won the war nor were Palestinians defeated. While this balanced approach can be appreciated in terms of the strategic reading of the ceasefire, it is still fundamentally incorrect when understood against the backdrop of popular Palestinian culture. For ordinary people, survival, continuity and self-assertion are the ultimate signs of victory against Israel, a country that does not hesitate to use genocide for temporary political gain. The core of their triumph is simply this: they remain.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2619560
----
Elections May Make Or Break Palestinian National Movement
Daoud Kuttab
October 20, 2025
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas last month pledged a series of political reforms, including holding general presidential and parliamentary elections one year after the Gaza ceasefire agreement came into effect. These commitments were made in a letter to the French-Saudi conveners of the high-level conference at the UN, which led to many important countries recognizing the state of Palestine.
If this commitment holds now that a ceasefire has been reached, Palestinians could be heading to the polls in October 2026 — a critical moment for the future of the Palestinian national movement and its political institutions. Elections will be held to choose both a president and the Palestinian Legislative Council. It is also possible that elections and, in some areas, appointments will take place to fill the remaining seats of the Palestine National Council, the top legislative body for all 14.3 million Palestinians around the world.
Yet, major questions remain. Will the Islamist movement Hamas participate directly in the elections? The answer is far from certain. Participation, according to the public pledge made by Abbas, requires adherence to the international commitments previously signed by the Palestine Liberation Organization, which include political and social agreements recognizing Israel and guaranteeing the rights of women and children. These obligations also encompass Palestine’s 2018 accession to the Second Optional Protocol of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aimed at abolishing the death penalty.
Given the ideological stance of Hamas and other hard-line factions, it is unlikely the movement will fully comply with these requirements. At best, some of its affiliates may run independently, possibly on local or clan-based lists. But even if Hamas and similar groups largely abstain, this does not automatically translate into an easy victory for the Palestinian national movement or PLO-affiliated parties.
Decades of governance by Fatah and other PLO factions have been marred by unilateral decision-making, allegations of corruption, nepotism and the misuse of governmental authority for personal and family interests. Convincing the Palestinian public — particularly the younger generations — that these movements are fit to lead will require more than mere promises; it will require tangible reforms and credible leadership renewal.
Fatah has taken tentative steps to address these challenges. Its Central Committee reinstated Nasser Al-Kidwa to his former positions after his removal for attempting to form an alternative electoral list in 2021. His return reflects a delicate balancing act: maintaining party unity while signaling a willingness to reconcile with internal dissent.
At the same time, baby steps have been taken to confront corruption, including the recent arrest of a minister and an attempt to detain the director of border crossings, who fled to Estonia — the only European country not cooperating with Palestinian Interpol requests. These actions indicate that the leadership recognizes the need to tackle systemic weaknesses, but they may not be enough to restore public trust or resolve deep-seated institutional decay.
A critical factor in the upcoming elections will be the status of Marwan Barghouti, the prominent Fatah leader currently imprisoned. Without his release or at least his formal nomination — even from prison — any other candidate will struggle to galvanize sufficient public support. It is equally unlikely that the national movement will secure a decisive majority in the legislative council or the broader national council without a strategy that convincingly addresses both governance shortcomings and public demands for reform.
The Palestinian demographic landscape adds another layer of complexity. The population is overwhelmingly young, digitally connected and increasingly impatient with traditional political structures. Observers in the region, including in Morocco, have noted how Gen Z voters express distinct political aspirations and often oppose established political currents.
For Palestinian youth, the appeal of entrenched leadership — dominated by senior figures who have been at the helm for decades — is waning. The next generation of leaders may emerge rapidly, particularly if the national movement fails to integrate new voices, ideas and energy into its ranks.
For Fatah and the broader PLO factions, the challenge is therefore existential. They must act decisively and quickly to rejuvenate their leadership, broaden participation and demonstrate that younger generations are not sidelined but are an integral part of the movement’s future. This entails structural reforms, greater transparency and genuine engagement with grassroots constituencies. Simply relying on historical dominance or established political machinery will no longer suffice in a landscape defined by social media, digital mobilization and heightened political awareness among the youth.
The stakes extend beyond electoral victory. These elections will serve as a litmus test for Palestinian democracy itself, testing whether national institutions can evolve to reflect contemporary societal needs and political expectations. The Palestinian national movement’s ability — or inability — to rise to this challenge will shape the political landscape for decades to come, determining whether it retains credibility or risks irrelevance in the eyes of a younger, more politically assertive population.
The upcoming elections, tentatively set for October 2026, are more than a procedural exercise — they represent a pivotal moment for Palestinian political life. For the national movement and the PLO factions that have dominated Palestinian politics for decades, success will hinge on genuine reform, leadership renewal and the inclusion of imprisoned and young voices in shaping the future.
Without these measures, any electoral exercise risks reinforcing the status quo while alienating the generation that will inherit the responsibility of leading the Palestinian people. The clock is ticking and the Palestinian national movement’s next steps will determine whether it remains a relevant force or becomes a relic of a bygone political era.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2619552
-------
Beware The Spoilers Of The Gaza Peace Plan
Dr. Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg
October 20, 2025
Five days passed without incident following the Sharm El-Sheikh summit on Oct. 13. But on the sixth day, Sunday, Israel accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire and responded harshly by launching scores of strikes, causing massive casualties. Hamas denied responsibility for the violation, but verifying the facts is difficult as the independent ceasefire observers envisioned in the plan do not appear to have started their task yet.
There have been expectations from Day 1 that Israel would stop implementing the deal once it got its hostages back. That speculation was based on many Israeli officials openly calling for continuing the war. However, the fact that the US has guaranteed this deal and President Donald Trump has personally staked his reputation on its success may make it difficult for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to go along with his extremist partners.
The Oct. 13 summit was the brainchild of Trump. Thirty countries attended the summit, including some of the largest and most important Arab, Muslim and European countries, such as Indonesia and Pakistan, as well as Jordan, Iraq and all six Gulf Cooperation Council countries. India and Japan attended from Asia and, from Europe, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain and the UK. Four countries — Egypt, Qatar, Turkiye and the US — were the guarantors.
A main point of the conference was for the leaders of these 30 countries to bear witness to the agreement and ensure its faithful implementation, including a ceasefire, prisoner exchange, the resumption of aid, an Israeli withdrawal, Palestinian governance of the Strip without Hamas, and reconstruction of Gaza with international support.
Until Sunday’s events, there had been a significant lull in Israel’s attacks, several exchanges of hostages and a trickle of aid, thanks to continued engagement and prodding by the guarantors. But once Israel got its hostages back, hard-line pressure started to mount to resume the war against Gaza, with extremists fantasizing of ethnically cleansing the Strip and sending Israeli settlers to occupy it.
Right-wing members of the Israeli government were thumbing their noses at the Gaza deal. On Tuesday, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called on Netanyahu to “order the (Israeli army) to fully resume combat in the Gaza Strip with maximum force.” He added: “Now that we have received the hostages, we must return to war and open the gates of hell upon Gaza.” Other ministers from the extreme right said similar things before Sunday’s attack. Netanyahu himself disagreed publicly with Trump over the key issues of the West Bank and Palestinian statehood.
According to the plan, Gaza will be demilitarized and all “military, terror and offensive infrastructure” destroyed. A multinational force overseen by the US military will monitor the ceasefire but it does not appear that this force has commenced operations. The plan also says Gaza will be initially governed by a temporary transitional committee of Palestinian technocrats — supervised by a “Board of Peace” chaired by Trump himself.
Hamas — which seized control of Gaza in 2007 by ousting its rivals a year after winning legislative elections — would play no future role in its governance, directly or indirectly, according to the Trump plan. It is a historic irony that Hamas was able to keep its hold over Gaza through Israeli support. Netanyahu thought of Hamas as a counterbalance to the Palestinian Authority, which he saw as a precursor to the idea of an independent Palestinian state that he so loathed.
However, governance of the Strip, according to Trump’s plan, will eventually be handed over to the PA — which administers the West Bank — once it has undergone reforms. But these provisions are yet to happen, leading Gazans to wonder whether any of it will happen any time soon, especially as Israeli officials keep casting doubts over the possibility of implementing the plan.
Hard-liners in Israel and Hamas are not the only spoilers. Israel has groomed a new generation of shady collaborators in Gaza, who have been accused of committing serious crimes, including killings and stealing aid supplies. Because of the security vacuum in Gaza, Hamas is taking the law into its own hands and going after these gangs, using their presence to justify keeping its weapons to “defend the civilians” of Gaza. It has said that it will disband and hand over its weapons only to a genuine Palestinian force.
Islamic Jihad, a close ally of Iran and the second-largest armed faction in Gaza after Hamas, can also play the spoiler role, depending on where Tehran stands on the Gaza deal. Its leader, Ziyad Al-Nakhalah, has rejected it as a “surrender plan.”
The Iranian position has been ambiguous, giving the plan a cautious “yes” officially, but hard-liners there have not hidden their disdain for obvious reasons. If the deal goes according to plan, pro-Iranian Palestinian factions would be disarmed and possibly banished from Gaza, depriving Tehran of an important foothold. Iran has little use for the PA and in the past has rejected the two-state solution.
On these two points, hard-liners in Iran and Israel agree. Since the start of the Iranian revolution 46 years ago, support for Palestinian hard-liners has been a rallying cry for Iran, confirming its revolutionary pedigree and claim for leadership in the Muslim world. Giving up that foothold will be difficult for Iran’s radicals, especially after losing Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Assad regime in Syria.
The guarantors must pressure all parties to honor their promises and Iran also needs to play a more positive and constructive role. Israel, in particular, has to implement its side of the bargain in good faith, including by quickly withdrawing its forces according to the plan instead of haggling endlessly over every inch of territory. It must allow aid in quickly and at scale and stop using it for political leverage.
For the Trump plan to succeed, and to prevent any repeat of Sunday’s clashes, constant engagement is needed by senior administration officials to ensure that all of its steps are being implemented according to schedule. The sooner the nonpartisan Palestinian security force trained by Egypt starts playing its role, the more likely it is that Hamas will lay down its arms. Similarly, the multinational observer and peacekeeping force and the Board of Peace need to make their presence felt. Otherwise, the spoilers will reverse the limited progress that has been made since Sharm El-Sheikh.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2619563
-------
The Crumbling Illusion: Why American Public Opinion on Israel Is Shifting
By Jamal Kanj
October 20, 2025
For the first time in decades, the public in the United States and across the West has begun to see Israel’s wars and occupation for what they truly are: acts of systemic injustice driven by malevolence and impunity. Social media has removed the familiar whitewash of mainstream filters, revealing truths long concealed behind carefully managed narratives that presented Israel as a victim and Palestinians as faceless aggressors.
At first, the shift in public opinion was dismissed as a fleeting wave of online teenage outrage. Others within the Zionist establishment ignored it altogether, clinging to an arrogant chutzpah born of decades of unchallenged influence over Western media. Convinced that control over the traditional press and elected officials made public sentiment irrelevant; they believed their “sophisticated” propaganda could always bring people back into their corral. Israel-firsters failed to understand that, this time, something fundamental had changed: people now had direct access to unfiltered images, eyewitness testimonies, and voices from Gaza that no amount of spin could erase.
Recent polling confirms just how profound this shift has become. Citing new Quinnipiac and New York Times polls, CNN’s chief data analyst, Harry Enten, noted that where voters once sided with Israel by +48 points in October 2023, they now favor Palestinians by +1 point. It is, he said, “the first time ever” since polling began in the 1980s that Palestinians hold any advantage in US public sympathy.
The shift is most dramatic among Democrats, who moved from supporting Israel by +26 points to favoring Palestinians by +46 – a seventy-two–point swing in just two years. Even among Republicans, deep generational divides are emerging, with voters under 50 far less supportive of Israel than their elders.
What the Zionist architects of managed consent failed to understand is that this transformation is not transient. It is generational and moral realignment. Younger Americans are examining Israeli actions with independent eyes, unburdened by the inculcated guilt narratives that shaped post-World War II Western politics. They belong to a global generation raised outside the rituals of the 5 o’clock news and cold war. A generation for whom information is open source and real-time videos bypassing the curated messaging of traditional media.
By blocking international reporters from entering Gaza, Israel inadvertently fueled the demand for alternative news. Social media became a critical independent source, a great equalizer, exposing atrocities that legacy networks once obfuscated or filtered out. It allowed millions to witness war crimes through the eyes of the victims, not corporations. It shattered the monopoly of manufactured consent that shielded Israel from accountability for seventy-seven years.
The raw images of destroyed hospitals, neighborhoods, universities, and starving children reshaped global consciousness. They exposed the real reasons why Israel murdered local journalists and was determined to keep the international press out of Gaza.
This reversal in public opinion helps explain the increasingly aggressive efforts by American Zionists to reassert control over both traditional and social media. As public sympathy for Palestinians grows, Israel and its allies are doubling down on narrative management, enlisting US media insiders to “shift the story” and re-establish their influence within the world’s leading news organizations.
For example, a new journalism fellowship founded in 2025 by Jacki and Jeff Karsh – heirs to a Zionist billionaire and self-described supporters of Israel – openly seeks to “shift the narrative” back in Israel’s favor. Promoted as “the world’s only journalism fellowship solely dedicated to Jewish topics,” it features pro-Israeli mentors from CNN and The New York Times, including Van Jones, Jodi Rudoren, and Sharon Otterman. Behind its claims of “integrity and independence,” the fellowship represents a broader Hasbara campaign to rebrand Israeli propaganda as journalism.
As Gaza’s reality reaches global audiences through unfiltered social media, public opinion is shifting faster than any managed narrative can contain. No amount of media engineering can conceal war crimes. Social media has torn down Israel’s false moral façade. No billionaire’s funding, no standing ovation for Benjamin Netanyahu in Congress, can erase what people have seen, questioned, and now refuse to accept: the lies that sustained occupation and Jewish apartheid for generations.
The political ripple effects of this awakening are beginning to unsettle Washington. What was once an untouchable bipartisan consensus on Israel now shows visible fissures, especially within the Democratic Party. Two years ago, I could not have imagined receiving text messages from candidates pledging to reject AIPAC funding. Even within the halls of Congress, where AIPAC once silenced dissent, a quiet rebellion is taking shape. Lawmakers, who once hesitated to utter the word “Palestine,” now invoke it as a measure of moral integrity. Questioning AIPAC and Israeli policy has become part of mainstream political discourse.
Ultimately, in this generational divide, the shift reflects the erosion of fear that once intimidated many. The fear of speaking out, of losing funding, or of being labeled anti-Semitic is fading. In its place rises conviction, where young Americans, armed with truth and moral clarity, are rejecting the long-standing conflation of Israel with Judaism, along with the myths and manufactured guilt that sustained it.
The question is no longer if US policy toward Israel will change, but when Washington’s politics will finally align with the public opinion.
https://www.palestinechronicle.com/the-crumbling-illusion-why-american-public-opinion-on-israel-is-shifting/
------
Double Standards on Gaza: Calling On Universities to Pledge to Responsible Investment
By Patrick Edgar
October 20, 2025
On September 11, 2025, the University of Oxford, in its ‘response to the crisis in Israel and Gaza,’ wrote that “as with all international conflicts and crises, the University as an institution will not take a particular advocacy position.”
The reason it gives is that “our institutional role is to enable free speech and open debate.” Reasonable enough, you would think, were it not for the fact that, on March 21, 2024 in its ‘response to the Ukrainian invasion’ (with a banner image of the Ukrainian flag at the top of the page) the University opines on the “unprovoked aggression of Ukraine by Russia” and that “members of our community are appalled by Russia’s actions and in awe of the bravery shown by Ukrainians”.
I am no Oxford graduate, but am I wrong to detect double standards here? Would it not have been more consistent had the University either written that they, too, ‘are appalled by Israel’s actions and in awe of the bravery shown by Palestinians’, or that they had decided not to ‘take a particular advocacy position’ on the ‘crisis’ in Ukraine?
In fact, given the institutional consensus by leading human rights organizations on Israeli crimes, one would think that the University would have condemned Israel’s actions in the strongest possible terms. Indeed, the latest report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory has found that “Israel has committed genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.”
Is it possible that the University does not know that between October 7, 2023, and July 31, 2025, 18,430 children have been killed in Gaza, whereas the figure in Ukraine, over a longer time frame (24 February, 2022 to 31 July, 2025), is 726? In other words, the figure in Gaza is almost 48 times higher than in Ukraine. You would think that this fact alone would galvanize the University to act. Instead, the University whitewashes Israel’s crimes by appealing to a facile argument, that “freedom of speech is the lifeblood of our University and we uphold the right for everyone to openly express their views and opinions with respect and courtesy.” It is a pity that the lifeblood of Gaza’s children does not figure in the University’s calculations.
No doubt Oxford is not alone in this. Cambridge University Vice-Chancellor “has watched with mounting outrage the events unfolding in the wake of the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine”, “strongly condemn[ing] this unprovoked act of war”.
In contrast, the Vice Chancellor speaks of “the humanitarian tragedy unfolding in Gaza”, as though it were an act of God and not a man-made tragedy. The tone is similar to Oxford’s, appealing as it does to “balancing rights and responsibilities during this difficult time”. Importantly, nowhere does the statement state that Israel is culpable, instead relying on the more neutral “tragic events”, the “loss of life”, and “the appalling destruction of educational institutions and infrastructure in Gaza.”
Why is this? There probably are a number of reasons. One of these is hinted at in both statements on the universities’ positions in relation to Gaza. The Oxford statement claims that due to student and staff concerns, the “University also accelerated a review of the current ban on direct investment in companies manufacturing arms that are illegal under UK law and in funds that primarily invest in such companies.”
In the case of Cambridge, student groups “have expressed a concern to us that our current investment may not be in line with our institutional values, especially in relation to the arms/defense industry.”
Is it possible that both universities have invested in industries that are complicit in the genocide of the Palestinian people, and that this investment has made both universities reluctant to apportion blame?
Of course, Oxford and Cambridge universities are not alone. No doubt other universities have made guarded statements in relation to the ‘crisis in Gaza’. No doubt a variety of statements have been made, ranging from condemnation of Israeli actions (the Rector of St Andrews University, in a statement, condemned Israeli actions as “genocidal attacks”) to the soft diplomatic language by Oxford and Cambridge.
As a student of history, I look for patterns and would suggest the following: the closer the links with Israeli institutions and industries, the more restrained the language will be in relation to Gaza. Conversely, the weaker the links, the more unambiguous the condemnations.
University response, no doubt, is susceptible to other factors, including the potential loss of income from students who become increasingly aware of Israeli crimes (difficult to hide, given their enormity) or the threat of continuing student encampments.
It is possible to imagine that students who are, in some way, aware of the links between their university and the arms industry would be indignant, even angry, that their hard-earned money would contribute to this. After all, it seems as though universities have set out principles that guide what they invest in, like the Cambridge University Endowment Trustee Body (CUETB), which oversees the Cambridge University Endowment Fund (CUEF). Cambridge University may not be living up to its principles in at least two ways: in its commitment to promoting ‘good governance’ and to aligning with ‘net-zero’ greenhouse gas emissions.
How then can we encourage universities to divest from companies that may have blood on their hands? The fact that Oxford and Cambridge are reconsidering their investment portfolio is a reflection of pressure from below: the University Council at Oxford is due to consider the review findings “later this year”, while Cambridge “commit(s) to working with a Task Force” and “a Working Group to review [its] approach to responsible investment” (though one would be hard-pressed to understand exactly how Cambridge intends to review their approach given the various bodies it intends to establish, not to mention the fact that this pledge was made last year but features in a September 2025 update).
My suggestion – and one which would rely on the participation of others – is for university advisers in secondary schools to inform prospective students about a given university’s decisions, especially those that have an ethical dimension. Of course, the decision as to whether or not to apply to a university has to lie with the prospective pupil, just like it is ultimately up to a customer to decide what product to buy. However, this does not mean that, as advisers, we ought to keep our mouths shut; in fact, it could be argued that we have a special responsibility to communicate all aspects of a university’s profile to prospective pupils (it could happen that the student runs afoul of a given university’s regulations on peaceful protests, for example).
As a university adviser in an IB World School, I have a responsibility to uphold the International Baccalaureate’s mission statement: to develop “inquiring, knowledgeable, and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through education.”
It is, in fact, possible to help create a worse and less peaceful world through education, if by education we mean paying tuition fees to a university complicit in human rights abuses. This is why I propose that, as university advisers, we ask that universities make a ‘responsible investment’ pledge. If you are interested in helping me, please contact me at my email address below. Together, we can signal to universities that their decisions have consequences.
https://www.palestinechronicle.com/double-standards-on-gaza-calling-on-universities-to-pledge-to-responsible-investment/
------
A Strategic Analysis of Why Gaza Resistance Thwarted Israel’s Military Objectives
October 20, 2025
In an article published on the Arabic website of the Lebanese news network Al-Mayadeen, writer Ahmad Abdul Rahman argued that the unprecedented steadfastness of the Palestinian people and the Resistance in Gaza, along with the notable accomplishments achieved during the genocide despite massive losses, could signal the “beginning of the collapse of this savage entity,” referring to Israel.
Abdul Rahman noted that conventional laws of modern warfare typically predict victory for the militarily stronger side—the one with superior technology, capabilities, and international support—with a success rate exceeding 95%. However, he asserted that the war on Gaza defied this expectation, as the “modest and less capable” Resistance not only survived the “unjust and senseless” war launched by Israel, but also managed to “frustrate most of the enemy’s stated objectives,” even “humiliating” the heavily armed Israeli military on numerous occasions.
The author identified three core internal factors and one external element as central to the Resistance’s ability to remain unbroken, enduring a genocidal campaign in “crushing, harsh, and unprecedented” conditions.
Ideological and Doctrinal Strength
According to Abdul Rahman, the primary reason for Israeli failure lies in the unwavering combat doctrine of the Palestinian Resistance factions. This doctrine is described as “steadfast, clear, and immutable,” and it fundamentally shapes the Resistance’s view of the conflict.
This deeply ingrained conviction, he argued, supplied the fighters with a “unique strength, resilience, and vitality” that made them impervious to being defeated. It was this spirit that enabled them to attack heavily fortified Israeli positions with “minimal, modest, and dilapidated weaponry” and face tanks with “crude, locally made explosive devices.”
Structural Resilience and Adaptation
Ahmad Abdul Rahman also pointed to the Resistance’s “robust and strong organizational structure” as a crucial factor. This framework allowed the factions to manage and overcome the severe repercussions of Israeli strikes, particularly the targeted assassinations of high-ranking leaders.
The Undercutting of Israeli Plans
A third, indispensable factor was the “honorable and enduring popular base” in Gaza. This base provided the Resistance with the environment and support needed to fight and survive.
The Role of Regional Allies
Finally, the writer acknowledged the importance of external support. The “support from the Resistance’s regional allies,” specifically mentioning the “support fronts opened in Lebanon and Yemen,” had a “major impact” on the battle. This regional action prevented Israel from isolating Gaza and concentrating its full military strength exclusively on the enclave.
In his conclusion, Ahmad Abdul Rahman reiterated that the scale of Israeli failure and the losses incurred—which he said were the worst since Israel’s founding—will ultimately lead to the entity’s “disintegration and downfall,” fulfilling the ultimate goal of irreversible departure from the region.
https://www.palestinechronicle.com/a-strategic-analysis-of-why-gaza-resistance-thwarted-israels-military-objectives/
------
Israel Needs To Take Tough Gaza Decisions Which May Test Bonds Of US Relationship
By jpost EDITORIAL
OCTOBER 21, 2025
A week after the release of the 20 remaining living hostages from Hamas captivity, their emotional return home, and the lightning visit of US President Donald Trump to the region to usher in his 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza, it appears to be unraveling.
Palestinian terror operatives launched an attack on Israeli forces in the Rafah area of the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday morning. The military said the attack, which involved rocket-propelled grenade fire and sniper shots by the terrorists against the IDF and which resulted in the deaths of Maj. Yaniv Kula and St.-Sgt. Itay Yavetz, was “a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement.”
The IDF responded forcefully, carrying out airstrikes and firing artillery shells at Rafah to “remove threats,” during which several tunnels and buildings where terror operatives were spotted were destroyed.
At the same time, Hamas representatives are saying that the terror group has no plans to disarm or cede its power in Gaza.
Israel’s just insistence that no further stages of the plan be implemented until the remainder of the bodies held by Hamas are returned is inadvertently enabling Hamas to entrench itself in the areas in Gaza from which the IDF has already withdrawn which will make the next phase of Trump’s ambitious plan much harder to implement.
Trump made light of the ceasefire violations by Hamas, telling reporters that “rogue elements, not Hamas leadership,” were responsible for the latest attack on Israel. We’ll handle it tough but fair. The ceasefire will hold.”
Getting the ceasefire back on track and ensuring it advances to the next stages are the formidable tasks facing Trump’s negotiators, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who were back in Israel yesterday as advance men for today’s scheduled visit by US Vice President JD Vance.
Witkoff and Kushner did so much to achieve the deal that brought the hostages home, and Israel can’t be grateful enough for their efforts. However, their statements on the 60 Minutes interview that aired on Sunday revealed for anyone who thought otherwise that US and Israeli interests in the region have some daylight.
Besides saying that the Trump team felt “betrayed” by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the unsuccessful Doha assassination attempt of the Hamas leadership and lumping Israel’s concerns with Hamas’s demands as “50 years of stupid word games that everyone in that region is so used to playing,” Kushner and Witkoff hinted that pressure on Israel is forthcoming given the Palestinian West Bank issue.
Kushner and Witkoff 'just getting started'
“The biggest message that we’ve tried to convey to the Israeli leadership now is that now that the war is over, if you want to integrate Israel with the broader Middle East, you have to find a way to help the Palestinian people thrive and do better,” Kushner said, adding that he and Witkoff were “just getting started” with relaying this message to Israel.
It’s unlikely that this objective is on Netanyahu’s coalition agenda, not one in which not only far Right partners Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich are breathing down his neck.
MK Amit Halevi, from Netanyahu’s Likud party, launched a scathing attack against the deal brokered by Trump and his negotiators, accusing them of endangering Israel’s security.
“These people are leading us to the gates of hell,” Halevi said in an interview with Army Radio, emphasizing that Gaza must ultimately come under Israeli control. “Sooner or later, Israel will control Gaza; there is no other way,” he said.
The difference in thinking between the US and Israel on the ceasefire is that the US sees its partners in Turkey, Egypt, and Qatar as having the ability to rein in Hamas and its nature of terrorism.
Israel, however, is rightfully skeptical and, due to the zero tolerance policy in place since October 7, is not prepared to ignore any infractions, whether it be the non-return of the hostages’ bodies or an aggressive and deadly attack the likes of which we saw on Sunday.
Whether the US – with Vance, Witkoff, and Kushner in person and Trump pulling the strings from Washington – and Israel will be able to bridge their divergent philosophies and strategies and bond over the shared goal of seeing a peaceful, rebuilt Gaza with a disarmed, ineffective Hamas will only become apparent in the coming weeks.
What is apparent, however, is that Israel may have to make some hard decisions that could very well antagonize its US partners. Then we’ll see how strong the bond really is.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-871103
------
Equating Palestinian Prisoners, Israeli Hostages: The Necessity Of Having A Moral Compass
By Cookie Schwaeber-Issan
October 21, 2025
How did we end up in a world where human beings justify cold-blooded murder or where innocent hostages are seen as being on equal footing with criminals who are imprisoned?
It wasn’t so long ago that nearly everyone knew the difference between good and evil, order and lawlessness, or had the ability to identify depravity. Sadly, this is no longer true.
We are seeing two things, in particular, interfere with society’s capacity to properly judge events – something that should be relatively easy to determine but is not – because politics and ideology have, in many cases, superseded what we refer to as a moral compass.
The values, principles, and guiding ethics, which come from the highest standards – usually the scriptures, which serve as the basis of our laws – are meant to give us a proper framework as to what is acceptable and what is not.
But what happens when misplaced loyalties or the need to conform with others in order to be viewed as one of them makes us see through a very dim lens, unable to make out what should be crystal clear?
That is the beginning of danger, and we are now in the throes of it. The British daily newspaper, The Guardian, ran a piece that illustrates this very issue. Describing the release of a Palestinian prisoner, it detailed how, according to family members, he looked like a dead body, since he had lost so much weight.
Palestinian terrorists compared to innocent Israeli hostages
Citing “difficult conditions and inadequate food in prison,” one might have been led to believe they were reading about one of the Gaza hostages. (“Freed hostages, released terrorists seen as equals,” The Jerusalem Post (October 17).
Drawing the similarity of their “emotional reunions” with their families, the horrific facts of their incarceration, whether murder, terror acts, rape, or other such monstrous crimes, are purposely obscured.
This helps to create a level playing field, designed to neatly place everything into the box of relativism where knowledge, truth, and morality are not absolute perspectives.
In that way, everything can be judged on a basis that is changeable, depending on circumstances, current societal mores, and a deliberate shift to manipulate the public into whatever the puppet masters want them to believe.
The once black and white, wrong from right is seen as too decisive for the tastes of an evolving world system. Perhaps, it hits too close to home, knowing that you or someone you know could be judged as embracing evil.
Because when you see hundreds of thousands take to the streets of major cities, advocating for Hamas terrorists, it becomes obvious that masses have been affected by a concerted effort to erase our moral compasses.
The political ideology of “woke” has fallen into this category. Those who have decided to champion the Palestinian cause have, by natural adoption, aligned themselves with a heinous, barbaric terror group that lacks all morals and conscience.
That they could invade peaceful communities inhabited by innocent families – burn, torture, mutilate, decapitate, rape, and brutalize them – says everything you need to know about the demonic nature of these combatants who used drugs in order to turn off any leftover semblance of humanity they may have possessed.
Conversely, those who support them, protest on their behalf, and take up their cudgels are not necessarily under the influence of substances. They are, instead, hypnotized by the lure of the insurgence.
Somewhat romanticized, revolt and uprising have, throughout the centuries, been known to draw in those seeking a bit of excitement and exhilaration.
For any whose lives lack purpose, direction, or meaning, becoming part of an organized protest can provide a sense of making a difference in a world that is filled with injustice.
Yet rather than dissect the inequities in order to understand their cause and determine the best way to help, many young people choose to join an already existing movement, naively believing in its legitimacy.
Blindly following along, moral truths are buried in favor of lending validity to a cause that would otherwise be easily rejected and forcefully condemned by anyone who has the ability to think rationally.
And that is what’s missing these days. In truth, it doesn’t take much thought to come to the conclusion that violence, as a means to accomplish one’s personal aspirations, is always wrong and always evil.
When hardened prisoners, who have taken the lives of innocents, are compared to people taken against their will for no good reason other than their ethnicity, then you know that a moral compass is nowhere to be found.
The great blessing about having a working conscience is that it serves as a source of protection for each one of us, allowing us to accurately discern what constitutes goodness and also determine when an immoral line has been crossed.
Without that ability, it’s like having lost all sense of feeling, so that when your skin touches a scalding hot pan, you cannot feel the pain or know that you have suffered severe damage to your body.
Likewise, our souls must have a mechanism of self-defense, because, without it, we are at the mercy of evildoers who will inflict their depravity upon an unsuspecting public who won’t know what hit them until the damage is already done.
Yes, times change, and the differences between today and even 100 years ago are astounding. So, we needn’t go back thousands of centuries to try to rationalize why we must be willing to move along with a fast-paced changing world.
Nonetheless, we must also analyze the efficacy and continued virtue of the laws that dictate what constitutes morality and immorality. Those precepts, bestowed upon us by the Almighty, were meant to endure over the passage of time.
Prohibitions such as not stealing, not committing murder, and not violating your neighbor are eternal values that, when honored, protect all of society, promoting mutual respect and maintaining the God-given principles we were blessed to inherit.
To suddenly challenge that code of moral guidelines in order to accommodate an agenda, that stands in opposition to these time-tested, incorruptible values is a jaded attempt to overrule the wisdom of our Creator.
It is, in effect, the ultimate dismissal of goodness and the sure path towards our destruction. The only way back is to acknowledge our human limitations and realize the necessity of having a moral compass, without which we are doomed to extinction.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-871036
------
Trump's Gaza Plan: Prelude To Saudi Normalization
By Jason Silverman
October 21, 2025
The first stage of President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace deal is so far shaky but nevertheless remains intact as Hamas continues to release the bodies of slain hostages, even if at a slower pace than the deal requires.
In response, the Israeli government announced that the Rafah crossing will be closed for the time being and, according to KAN 11’s Suleiman Maswadeh and Gili Cohen, is considering additional sanctions if Hamas does not continue to abide by the agreement, such as moving the IDF’s withdraw lines in Gaza.
In the meantime, Trump appears to be moving additional pieces on the regional chess board in preparation for the next stages of his plan.
Talks with Saudi Arabia
The Financial Times reported on Friday that Saudi Arabia is currently engaged in discussions with the US regarding the possibility of a defense pact. It is likely that this would come in the form of a presidential executive order, resembling the guarantees the US provided Qatar last month stating that any attack on its sovereign territory will be considered a “threat to the peace and security of the United States.”
The executive order providing US guarantees for Qatar’s security, in addition to a publicized apology from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for Israel’s botched attack in Doha, is what brought Qatar back as a mediator and ultimately led to the breakthrough in reaching an agreement on the first stage of the plan.
It now appears that Trump is seeking to pave the path toward another regional breakthrough through the provision of a similar guarantee for Saudi Arabia. Is this the prelude to the long-awaited normalization between Jerusalem and Riyadh?
Trump’s recent statements seem to indicate that this is the intended direction. Over the weekend, he told Fox News that Saudi officials have expressed to him their willingness to normalize relations with Israel “as recently as yesterday,” explaining that the opportunity has returned now that Iran is largely neutralized and with the war coming to a close in Gaza.
Normalization and Palestinian statehood
Saudi officials have in the past demanded an irreversible pathway to Palestinian statehood as a prerequisite to normalizing relations with Israel. However, even during the war, other reports suggested that mere declarative commitments to eventual Palestinian statehood would suffice in order to secure US security guarantees.
While the prospect of US security guarantees for Saudi Arabia seems near, what about the pathway to Palestinian statehood?
Trump’s plan certainly does not guarantee Palestinian statehood and the reality on the ground seems far from it, but the plan does in principle provide a possible pathway toward that end. It states that if Gaza redevelopment advances and the Palestinian Authority’s internal reforms are faithfully implemented, “the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood.”
Not only does this appear in the plan but Trump has successfully cajoled Netanyahu in formally agreeing to implement the plan. Thus, with the ceasefire in Gaza intact and with Trump arguably being the most credible US guarantor in decades, perhaps these are the declarative guarantees that will “suffice” for Saudi Arabia to finally normalize relations with Israel.
Moreover, reports in Israeli media claim that Netanyahu is eyeing for elections in June 2026. If true, this hints that Netanyahu will likely try to achieve normalization with Saudi Arabia, and potentially additional Arab and Muslim countries, early enough in the implementation of Trump’s plan in order not to lose his government prematurely while executing enough of his plan for Saudis to agree to a deal.
Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir can only remain in the government for so long, and the further the plan advances, which includes provisions that they staunchly oppose such as the return of the PA to Gaza, the more the coalition is jeopardized. At the same time, more time is needed for normalization to be realized; the remains of all the hostages need to be returned, the second stage needs to commence, and a US security guarantee needs to first be delivered.
With normalization potentially in place, all Israel needs to do is continue to agree to the full implementation of Trump’s deal and let the onus be on Hamas to fulfill its terms, and thereby achieve all its war objectives – all the hostages returned and Hamas disarmed and removed from power.
If this does not happen, Israel will likely have the backing of the US for continuing to prosecute the war against Hamas. Let Trump continue without interference to move the pieces on the board and restructure the regional geopolitical landscape, which serves Israel’s interests.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-871031
-------
New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism