News and Analysis 10/25/25

Israeli war crimes continue:

• Israeli Army Kills 2 Palestinians in Gaza, Breaching Agreed Truce Again (TRT World)
• Escalation Across the West Bank: Israeli Raids and Settler Violence Intensify (Palestine Chronicle)
• Gift to Palestinians from Scottish Firefighters Seized by Israel, May Be Sent Back to UK: Report (Middle East Eye)
• Israel Blocks Gaza Crossings Despite Ceasefire; 1.5 Million Need Aid (Muslim Mirror)
• Iran Condemns Israeli Air Raid on Lebanon (Muslim Mirror)

Mamdani’s socialist policies are fair game, but attacking his Muslim identity is sheer bigotry …

• In Emotional Speech, Zohran Mamdani Defends Muslim Identity Against ‘Racist and Baseless’ Attacks (AP)

… “The city probably has about 1 million Muslims (there are no official numbers tallied for religious groups), which is about the same number as Jews in New York City”:

• From Scapegoats to City Hall: How New York Muslims Built Power and Shaped Zohran Mamdani (The Guardian)

The Zionist war on free speech — and the resistance — continues:

• DACA Activist Within NTX Muslim Community in ICE Custody, Accused of Supporting Terrorism (NBC DFW)
• The Palestine Exception: Is Morality a ‘Distraction’? (Inside Higher Ed)
• Italian Police Suppress Pro-Palestine Demonstration in Rome (Jordan News)
• Unions Sue Trump Administration over Social Media ‘Surveillance’ Program (NBC News)

“Pakistan has seen a significant spike in blasphemy cases in recent years, in line with the TLP’s rise”:

• Pakistan Bans Hard-line Islamist Party Known for Its Fierce Anti-blasphemy Stance (NPR)

“Although there are reasons to doubt many elements of the Trump ‘peace plan’—which neither side has agreed to in full—the assertion that no one will be forced to leave Gaza represents a major reversal: prior Israeli and U.S. government policy clearly aimed to force some or all Palestinians from the Strip”:

• Peace in Gaza Depends on Palestinians’ Right to Remain — and Return (Informed Comment)

“Talks in the US may yield a temporary ceasefire but any end to the war is complicated by regional rivalries”:

• Trump Pushes for Sudan Truce in Washington and Gets Sisi to Lean on Burhan (Middle East Eye)

“The statement also called for a meeting to ‘agree on a national strategy and to revitalise the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people’”:

• Palestinian Factions Say They Agree to Let Independent Technocrat Committee Run Gaza (The Guardian)

FATF “stated that Iran’s reservations to the convention are excessively broad and that the country’s domestic implementation of the Palermo Convention does not meet FATF standards”:

• FATF Rejects Iran’s Accession to Palermo Convention (WANA)

“An epistolary exchange between an Islamic scholar and a rabbi points to the concept of universal empathy in their traditions as the key”:

• Can Each Side’s Faith Break the Cycle of Mutually Assured Destruction for Israelis and Palestinians? (CATO Institute)

ImadadDean