Thursday,
November 27, 2025

News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:

U.S. Plans Compounds to House Palestinians in Israeli-Held Half of Gaza - David M. Halbfinger
The U.S. is pushing for the rapid construction of a number of residential compounds for Palestinians in Israeli-controlled parts of Gaza. U.S. officials are calling them "Alternative Safe Communities."
    Most Gazans are currently in the Hamas-controlled part of Gaza where the U.S. and Israel are not yet allowing any reconstruction. U.S. officials hope Palestinians will feel encouraged to move to the new compounds, drawn to the prospect of greater security, freedom from Hamas, job opportunities, and a chance to rebuild their lives.
    The proposal reflects the lack of progress in ousting and disarming Hamas, leaving U.S. and Israeli officials to do what they can where they can. The U.S. wants to see reconstruction in the parts of Gaza where most people currently live, but only after Hamas has been dislodged from power there, said Aryeh Lightstone, a top aide to former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, who is leading the effort for the administration. (New York Times)

News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:

Body of Israeli Hostage Dror Or Returned to Israel
Dror Or, 48, was identified as the slain hostage whose remains were returned to Israel by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad on Tuesday, the Prime Minister's office announced on Wednesday. Or was murdered in Kibbutz Be'eri on Oct. 7, 2023, and his body was taken to Gaza by Palestinian Islamic Jihad. His wife, Yonat Or, was also killed in the attack. Two of Or's children, Alma, 13, and Noam, 17, were abducted with him and released in November 2023.
    The bodies of two hostages remain in Gaza: St.-Sgt.-Maj. Ran Gvili and Thai national Sudthisak Rinthalak. (Jerusalem Post)

IDF Kills More Hamas Terrorists from Rafah Tunnels - Elisha Ben Kimon
Over the past week, more than 20 terrorists have been killed and eight others arrested while attempting to escape the tunnel network in Rafah in southern Gaza. With time, Israeli forces are steadily shrinking the tunnel zone - using various methods to force the terrorists to surface. The IDF estimates that dozens of Hamas operatives remain in isolated pockets underground. Captured terrorists said those who tried to escape were looking for food and water. (Ynet News)

Israel Braces to Disarm Hamas Alone as U.S.-Backed Stabilization Force Falters - Itamar Eichner
Israeli officials now believe they may be forced to dismantle Hamas on their own, after delays in forming a U.S.-backed International Stabilization Force (ISF). The force was meant to enter Gaza after the fighting ends to help disarm Hamas and stabilize the territory, but few countries are stepping forward. "In the end, Israel may have no choice but to do it alone," one official said. "Hamas is showing no signs of voluntarily laying down its arms." (Ynet News)
    See also The Uncertain Future of Gaza's International Stabilization Force - Jonathan Lincoln
As history has shown, when it comes to forging multinational military coalitions, getting a resolution in place is one thing, actually forming and deploying a force is another, and ensuring that the troops act in accordance with the mandate is something else entirely.
    Israel has redeployed its forces to a buffer zone that comprises around 50% of Gaza's territory, from which it has conducted strikes against perceived threats. This freedom of action in buffer zones corresponds with Israel's overall security posture with regard to Lebanon and Syria since Oct. 7. Additionally, it provides a degree of confidence to the Gaza envelope communities, given their experiences on Oct. 7, by creating a physical buffer between Israel and Hamas forces.
    The writer is director of the Center for Jewish Civilization at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. (War on the Rocks)

Palestinian Islamic Jihad Building Growing Armed Presence in Syria with Regime Approval
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) has started to build a growing military presence in Syria, Israel's Channel 11 reported Wednesday. This occurs with Syria's full awareness and comes as Hamas bolsters its strength in Lebanon through increased cooperation with Hizbullah. There has been a particular uptick in PIJ activity in the Palestinian refugee camps near Damascus. (Jerusalem Post)

Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis:

Did Israel Win the War in Gaza? - Maj.-Gen. (res.) Tamir Hayman
One of Israel's objectives in Gaza is toppling Hamas's rule and dismantling its military capabilities. Militarily, Hamas is no longer the "terrorist army" it was before Oct. 7, 2023. Its commanders have been killed, its battalions dismantled, and organizational structure shattered. It has no functioning headquarters, special forces, or weapons-production infrastructure, and no coherent chain of command. Its fighters operate as small, uncoordinated guerrilla cells focused primarily on survival.
    Hamas now holds roughly 10% of its prewar rocket arsenal. Its estimated 17,000 fighters, mostly new and inexperienced, share approximately 10,000 rifles. The threat today differs dramatically from that of Oct. 6.
    Moreover, Hamas's condition is described as one of defeat by many Gaza residents and by prominent Palestinian opinion leaders. However, a decisive defeat requires sustained mechanisms to prevent Hamas's recovery. This means eliminating the organization's ability to recruit, rebuild, and reenter the fighting.
    Eliminating Hamas's governing capacity requires a competing authority capable of assuming control. Currently, Hamas still controls about half of Gaza's territory and exerts influence over an even larger portion of the population.
    By many measures, Israel has defeated Hamas in Gaza. However, it is too early to assess the durability of the change. Israel's national defense posture is nonetheless significantly improved compared to the prewar period.
    The writer, former head of the IDF Intelligence Directorate, is executive director of INSS.  (Institute for National Security Studies-Tel Aviv University)

No Other Nation Has Expressed Readiness to Directly Engage Hamas Fighters - Khaled Abu Toameh
Hamas is not the only terror group operating inside Gaza. Among the other groups are Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Popular Resistance Committees, Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades (affiliated with the Fatah faction headed by PA President Mahmoud Abbas), Palestinian Mujahideen Movement, and Palestinian Freedom Movement. Some of these groups were also involved in kidnapping Israeli and foreign hostages on Oct. 7.
    No nation globally has expressed readiness to have its forces directly engage Hamas fighters. Most Arabs and Muslims do not see Hamas as a threat to their national security; they therefore see no need to engage the terror group. This leaves Israel as the only country that has an urgent interest in disarming Hamas to prevent it and its allies from carrying out more atrocities in Israel.
    It is imperative that the Trump administration insist on the disarmament of all the terror groups operating in Gaza, not only Hamas. If the proposed international force does not want to, or is incapable of undertaking such a task, the U.S. should give Israel a green light to finish the job. Total disarmament appears to be the only way to ensure Trump's vision that "Gaza will be a deradicalized terror-free zone that does not pose a threat to its neighbors."
    Moreover, the U.S. needs to make sure that members of all these terror groups are not incorporated into any new Palestinian police force established in Gaza. Recruiting Islamist jihadis and terrorists to such a police force would allow them to pursue their Jihad (holy war) against Israel with new uniforms and guns supplied by the international community, and the deradicalization of Gaza will never take place.
    The writer, a veteran Israeli journalist, is a senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute and the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs.  (Gatestone Institute)

IDF Turning the Tide in the West Bank - Elisha Ben Kimon
On Tuesday, the IDF declared there were no longer any fugitive terrorists in the West Bank responsible for past attacks, following the elimination of the final two suspects on its list. Security sources say, "The change is clear. The fact that soldiers now run through the heart of the Jenin refugee camp says it all."
    In the years preceding the war, Central Command avoided aggressive action in the West Bank for fear it could ignite rocket fire toward Israel from Gaza. Today, security officials say, Israeli deterrence has had a visible impact on Palestinian residents of the West Bank.
    "Since the war, they understand that Israel and the IDF have changed both in posture and mindset," one said. The IDF's freedom of operation has significantly expanded, with fewer approvals now required. A Central Command source noted: "Today, our forces can reach every centimeter of the West Bank. That hasn't happened since 1967."
    Some security officials had believed that a halt to Israeli work permits, increased military pressure, large-scale troop deployments, and the killing of numerous terrorists would spark mass unrest. But that has not happened. Both older Palestinian adults who experienced the Second Intifada and younger people have witnessed how the IDF has changed and understand the potential damage that a renewed uprising could bring to their daily lives.
    The IDF also invests significant resources in thwarting "soft terror" including the arrest of key online inciters and individuals caught with propaganda materials. "When someone shows up at a terrorist's funeral waving a Hamas flag and is arrested 12 hours later, it sends a clear message," security officials said. Incitement on Palestinian social media, once rampant, has significantly decreased in recent months. (Ynet News)

Islamic Socialism Takes on the West - Tirza Shorr
There is a century-old ideological tradition that melds Islamic theology with socialist revolutionary theory in ways that produce unpredictable and often dangerous outcomes. This fusion operates according to a logic articulated by neo-Marxist philosopher Herbert Marcuse, who argued for destroying the liberal democratic order by creating a "new sensibility" that would demolish existing social structures.
    Islamic socialism was born in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, when Vladimir Lenin successfully courted Muslim constituents of the Russian empire. Both groups saw symmetry between their ideologies. For socialists, the end goal was societal transformation. Muslims saw their faith similarly - as a comprehensive system for remaking society. In Soviet propaganda posters, the Muslim revolutionary communist appeared as an Orientalist hero wielding a sword and straddling a horse.
    In Iran's 1979 revolution, Iranian Marxists and students joined forces with Ayatollah Khomeini to topple the Shah's Western-aligned monarchy. French philosophers Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, and Michel Foucault, along with Americans Edward Said and Richard Falk, applauded the Islamic Revolution. Covering the revolution as a journalist, Foucault welcomed the Islamic government's "political spirituality" and called Khomeini "a kind of mystic saint."
    Islamic socialism represents a systematic challenge to Western democratic civilization. By racializing Muslim identity as inherently oppressed and framing any criticism as "Islamophobia," it immunizes itself from critique. When figures like Zohran Mamdani blend Islamic identity with socialist politics, they are participating in a century-old tradition of revolutionary ideology that has repeatedly produced authoritarian outcomes.
    The writer is a senior researcher at the Jerusalem Center.  (Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs)

Designating Muslim Brotherhood as Terrorist Organization Serves Interests of Muslims - Mamdouh AlMuhaini
The Trump administration's plan to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization serves the interests of Muslims. The designation would weaken the Brotherhood's influence over Muslim communities in the U.S. and Europe. It would give Muslims a chance to practice their faith without the heavy political injection the Brotherhood adds to religion.
    Many Islamic centers and associations in America and the West promote political Islam rather than the true essence of the faith. Their goal is to produce ideological cadres rather than upright believers. They create intellectual barriers between Muslims and the American and European societies they live in. We have seen extremist individuals emerge from these communities and later join militant groups.
    Weakening the Muslim Brotherhood would open space for ideas of tolerance and religious moderation to grow and spread. It would reduce the spread of destructive hatred. We know that violent movements trace their roots to Brotherhood-influenced ideology.
    This is something Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states understood long ago when they designated the Brotherhood. Their influence harms minds and blocks progress using religious arguments that are, in reality, motivated by a desire for power.
    I agree with those who say Islam has been hijacked. The hands of Bin Laden, Baghdadi, Soleimani, and Zarqawi are stained with the blood of innocent people. The majority of terrorism's victims are Muslims.
    The writer is General Manager of Al Arabiya and Al Hadath. (Al Arabiya)

"Palestine 36" Is an Insult to History - James Heartfield
"Palestine 36" is a new movie about Arab resistance to colonialism in British-governed Palestine in the late 1930s, paid for with cash from BBC Films and the British Film Institute. But it suffers from a big problem: it is not true.
    The filmmaker, Annemarie Jacir, depicts the events of 1936 to 1939 as if the British are working on behalf of the Jewish settlers, who are depicted as vicious and rapacious "colonizers." Yet the truth about what is known as the Great Revolt is that the leaders of the Palestinian Arabs were more opposed to Jews than they were to British imperialism - indeed, they said straight-forwardly that they would have supported Britain if only it would stop Jewish immigration to Mandate Palestine.
    Jews are shown being allocated land by the British that was confiscated from Arabs. But that was not British policy. Whatever land Jews had in 1936, they had bought from Arab owners. "Palestine is not for sale," say protesters in the movie. But the truth is that it was, and for a decent profit, too, for Arab landowners.
    In Jacir's telling, the conflict started because Jews began killing Arabs. In the real 1936, however, the first victim was Israel Hazan, 70, a Jewish immigrant from Salonika, Greece. He was shot on his knees as he begged for mercy from the Arab militia that had abducted him.
    Jacir paints the British as wholly biased in favor of the Jews - another distortion. There were as many British officials who pulled in favor of the Arab cause as there were pulling the other way. (Spiked-UK)

Cambodia and Israel to Boost Agricultural Cooperation - Rin Ousa
The new Israeli Ambassador to Cambodia Alona Fisher-Kamm, who will be based in Bangkok, presented her credentials to King Norodom Sihamoni at the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh on Nov. 24. State-owned TVK television said the King conveyed his appreciation to the government and people of Israel for their longstanding collaboration with Cambodia, noting Israel's active support in commerce, tourism, education, and agriculture.
    On Nov. 25, Kamm met Dith Tina, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, who encouraged the Israeli side to expand support for Cambodian agricultural students in Israel, enabling them to gain practical skills and comprehensive knowledge. The Israeli government provides 11-month scholarships for Cambodian students to study and gain firsthand experience in the modern agricultural sector in Israel.
    From 2008 to 2025, Cambodia sent 2,123 students to study agriculture in Israel. However, a Cambodian student was killed in a Hamas attack on Israel in 2023. (Cambodianess)

Observations:

Americans are traditionally focused on their lives and, at best, domestic politics. That's why it's stunning to see how much coverage, fury, and focus there has been for two years on Israel in Gaza. Manipulative, well-funded networks have cultivated this Israel-obsession and Palestinian-romanticization. It is magnified mindlessly online.

America seems filled with laptop warriors who never fired a gun and cannot tell friend from foe, arrogantly making long-distance military calls about IDF strategy. Meanwhile, armchair moralists throw lightning bolts of condemnation at Israel, having ignored their own country's behavior in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Never forget: Hamas's Iranian-funded Oct. 7 massacre imposed this existential war for survival on Israel. Oct. 7 marks the latest, bloodiest, chapter in Palestinian exterminationists' decades-long war against Zionism. Read their charters, speeches, and sermons. They've framed their "struggle" as an all-or-nothing fight to eliminate the "Zionist entity." They're the ones who repeatedly rejected compromise since the 1940s, and keep improvising various ways to kill Jews.

Zionism resets the conversation that puts Israel's supporters in a defensive crouch. It transcends the defensiveness, refuting the accusations in deeds not words, with joy not anguish, victories not defeatism. It accentuates the eternals: identity, history, community, continuity, survival. Zionism takes Israel off probation, celebrating Jews' historic commitment to one another, our people, state and land - our intertwined fate.

Identity Zionism roots Jews in a centrifugal reality spinning around our tradition, our land, our people, our state. That superpower resists modern Western culture's forces, spinning toward fragmented affinities, and thereby undermining loyalties to others, to the collective.

The writer, a Distinguished Scholar of North American History at McGill University, is a Senior Fellow in Zionist Thought at the Jewish People Policy Institute.

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