{"id":94063,"date":"2026-02-18T07:33:06","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T12:33:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.minaret.org\/?p=94063"},"modified":"2026-02-18T07:33:06","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T12:33:06","slug":"news-and-analysis-2-18-26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.minaret.org\/?p=94063","title":{"rendered":"News and Analysis 2\/18\/26"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Zionist war on free speech &#8212; and the resistance &#8212; continues:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7049713\/2026\/02\/16\/winter-olympics-worker-free-palestine\/\">Winter Olympics Free Speech Row over Worker\u2019s \u2018Free Palestine\u2019 Message<\/a> (NY Tmes)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dropsitenews.com\/p\/banning-dissent-huda-ammori-palestine-action-carrie-prejean-boller-trump-israel\">Banning Dissent and Criminalizing Palestine Activism<\/a> (Drop Site News)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The policy against DHS enforcement activities at mosques and other places of worship was rescinded on &#8220;the day Donald Trump was sworn in for his second term&#8221;:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/story\/news\/religion\/2026\/02\/17\/muslim-community-on-edge-over-ice-as-ramadan-begins-with-evening-gatherings\/88653128007\/\">Muslim Community on Edge over ICE as Ramadan Begins with Evening Gatherings<\/a> (Detroit News)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Settler violence and Israeli war crimes continue:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.haaretz.com\/israel-news\/israel-politics\/2026-02-17\/ty-article\/.premium\/smotrich-next-israeli-govt-should-encourage-migration-of-palestinians-from-west-bank\/0000019c-6d8c-d631-a3de-7d8c4d2a0000\">Smotrich Says Next Israeli Gov&#8217;t Should &#8216;Encourage Migration&#8217; of Palestinians from West Bank<\/a> (Haaretz)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.haaretz.com\/opinion\/2026-02-18\/ty-article-opinion\/.premium\/from-hamas-to-iran-israels-disarmament-demands-reveal-a-strategy-of-perpetual-threat\/0000019c-6d2a-d3c2-ab9f-6dfe58f40000\">From Hamas to Iran, Israel&#8217;s Disarmament Demands Reveal a Strategy of Perpetual Threat<\/a> (Haaretz)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/features\/2026\/2\/17\/after-dozens-died-in-israeli-jails-death-penalty-law-rattles-palestinians\">After Dozens Died in Israeli Jails, Death Penalty Law Rattles Palestinians<\/a> (Aljazeera)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/thearabweekly.com\/israel-police-impose-curbs-palestinians-al-aqsa-during-ramadan\">Israel Police to Impose Curbs on Palestinians at Al-Aqsa During Ramadan<\/a> (Arab Weekly)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&#8220;Iran and the United States agreed to &#8216;a set of guiding principles&#8217; laying the groundwork for a broader deal during talks in Geneva on Tuesday, Tehran\u2019s top diplomat said&#8221; &#8230;<\/p>\n<p>&#8230; and a U.S. official says, &#8220;<span data-schema=\"smart-brevity\">the Iranians offered to come back in the next two weeks with detailed proposals &#8220;to address some of the open gaps in our positions<\/span>&#8221; &#8230;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2026\/02\/17\/trump-iran-nuclear-deal-talks-geneva-progress\">U.S. and Iran Say Progress Made in Geneva Nuclear Talks<\/a> (Axios)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&#8230; but redlines like ballistic missiles and civilian-use level uranium enrichment remain as obstacles, &#8230;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/iran-us-nuclear-talks-may-fail-due-to-both-nations-red-lines-but-that-doesnt-make-them-futile-275530\">Iran-US Nuclear Talks May Fail Due to Both Nations\u2019 Red Lines \u2013 but that Doesn\u2019t Make Them Futile<\/a> (The Conversation)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&#8230; while the &#8220;latest flurry of U.S. assets heading to the Middle East includes many of the missing capabilities needed for a sustained air campaign&#8221; &#8230;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.twz.com\/news-features\/final-pieces-moving-into-place-for-potential-attack-on-iran\">Final Pieces Moving into Place For Potential Attack on Iran<\/a> (The War Zones)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&#8230; and some US officials are reminded of last June 19, when &#8220;<span class=\"gated-content\" data-nosnippet=\"\">the White House set a two-week window for Trump to decide between further talks or strikes. Three days later, he launched Operation Midnight Hammer<\/span>&#8220;:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2026\/02\/18\/iran-war-trump-military-strikes-nuclear-talks\">Trump Moves Closer to a Major War with Iran<\/a>(Axios)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&#8220;Iranian state media had reported that the Strait of Hormuz would be partially shut for a few hours on Tuesday due to &#8216;security precautions&#8217; for shipping safety while Iran&#8217;s elite Revolutionary Guards conducted military drills there&#8221;:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinelink.com\/news\/iran-shut-hormuz-strait-a-few-hours-535835\">Iran Shut Hormuz Strait for a Few Hours on Tuesday<\/a> (Marine Link)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cThe surprise return of the controversial former leader has revealed that Iraq is still a US\u2013Iran battleground&#8221; &#8212; Chatham House:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/globalpost.com\/apple-news\/us-iran-proxy-battle-in-iraq-undermines-iraqs-political-future\/\">US-Iran Proxy Battle in Iraq Undermines Iraq\u2019s Political Future<\/a> (Global Post)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Will Philadelphia&#8217;s Muslims vote for a Muslim who lacks the &#8220;courage to really condemn Israel for what clearly was a genocide&#8221;?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2026\/02\/18\/sharif-street-philadelphia-israel-palestine-congress\/\">Philadelphia Could Elect Its First Muslim Congressman. He\u2019s Not Sure Where He Stands on Israel<\/a> (The Intercept)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The county says it is seeking a waiver from stater law that requires it schedule school on the holiday:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/wjla.com\/news\/local\/muslim-parents-students-upset-maryland-school-snow-make-up-days-eid-al-fitr-holiday-ramadan-montgomery-prince-georges-county-superintendent-board-education-non-instructional-mcps-closures\">Muslim Families in Maryland Upset over Snow Make-up Day on Eid al-Fitr<\/a> (WJLA)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Zionist war on free speech &#8212; and the resistance &#8212; continues: Winter Olympics Free Speech Row over Worker\u2019s \u2018Free Palestine\u2019 Message (NY Tmes) Banning Dissent and Criminalizing Palestine Activism (Drop Site News) The policy against DHS enforcement activities at mosques and other places of worship was rescinded on &#8220;the day Donald Trump was sworn [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-94063","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-and-analysis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.minaret.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94063","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.minaret.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.minaret.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.minaret.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.minaret.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=94063"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blog.minaret.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94063\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":94068,"href":"https:\/\/blog.minaret.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94063\/revisions\/94068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.minaret.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=94063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.minaret.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=94063"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.minaret.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=94063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}