News Digest — 2/28/25
Hamas Targets Jerusalem During Ramadan
Ahead of the start of Ramadan Friday (28th) Hamas has been pushing for an escalation and acts of terrorism in Jerusalem and on the Temple Mount, in response to Israeli police recommendations to limit the number of worshipers at the al-Aqsa Mosque. Hamas claims that “All plans and schemes will be shattered by the escalation of the resistance in all its forms.”
As Ramadan has come, this weekend, Hamas is aiming to spark waves of terror attacks in Jerusalem and the Temple Mount.
On Thursday (27th), Harun Nasser al-Din, the head of Hamas’ “Jerusalem office,” who is currently abroad declared that there must be “full confrontation against the occupation’s incursions, an uprising against its projects, and no surrender to attempts at Judaization and expulsion.” A senior Hamas official echoed this call, urging an escalation of “resistance in all its forms in Jerusalem,” a clear incitement to terrorist attacks.
Nasser al-Din also referenced the demolition of illegal structures in Jerusalem, promoting propaganda messages that accuse Israel of implementing “malicious plans for expulsion and Judaization projects.” He further emphasized that “all plans and schemes will be shattered by the escalation of the resistance in all its forms.”
Throughout the week, Hamas has seized on Israeli police recommendations to limit the number of Muslim worshipers allowed at al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan, proposing a cap of 10,000 people at a time.
In response, the terrorist organization declared that restricting the number of worshipers constitutes “a dangerous escalation and precedent aimed at undermining freedom of worship at al-Aqsa Mosque.” Hamas further warned Israel about “the consequences of implementing these recommendations,” saying that Israel would bear full responsibility for any resulting escalation.”
At the same time, Hamas is not ruling out an extension of the first phase of the hostage deal and the ceasefire in Gaza. If additional phases proceed they will coincide with the volatile period of Ramadan, which has seen escalations in the past.
Additional Hostages May Be Freed Saturday If Ceasefire Extended
An Israeli source reported on Thursday (27th) that additional hostages could be released on Saturday (3/1) and the ceasefire may be extended.
The first stage of the hostage deal ended on Wednesday (26th) with the release of four dead Israeli captives. It is estimated that 59 hostages remain in Gaza, with 35 declared dead.
Also on Thursday (27th), Defense Minister Israel Katz revealed Hamas’ plans for a large-scale attack on communities in Judea and Samaria, as well as along the Seam Line security barrier.
“Hamas files were seized that outlined plans to target towns in Judea and Samaria and along the seam line.” Katz said in a statement to regional council heads, according to Israel Hayom.
”The communities in Judea and Samaria serve as the protective wall for Israel,” the defense minister emphasized. When Judea and Samaria are secured, the major cities are secured. We must take an offensive stance in Judea and Samaria and defeat the enemy.”
In response to the defense minister’s report, Hamas insisted that the terror group had no plans to attack IDF soldiers or towns during the ceasefire.
Hamas released a statement saying, “We reaffirm our complete commitment to the ceasefire agreement and all its provisions as well as our readiness to continue negotiations for the next phase of the agreement.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had instructed the negotiation team to travel to Cairo on Thursday (27th) to resume talks on the continuation of the hostage deal with Hamas, following the completion of Phase 1. The decision came after the prime minister had consultations as to whether Jerusalem should send a delegation for the next round of negotiations.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff is scheduled to visit the region early next week, with a stop in Israel.
Speaking at the American Jewish Committee meeting in Washington, Witkoff emphasized the significant progress made and ongoing efforts to secure the release of more hostages. He also mentioned that he may join the talks if they produce positive outcomes.
Teen In Critical Condition After Terror Suspect Plows Car Into Bus Stop, Injuring 13
A Palestinian man steered his car into a crowd of people waiting at a bus stop in northern Israel on Thursday (27th) in a terror spree that left 13 people injured, including a teen hospitalized in critical condition, authorities said,
The suspect, identified as a Palestinian from the Jenin area, of the West Bank who was living in Israel illegally with his Arab-Israeli wife, was shot and killed while attempting to stab police officers after fleeing the scene of the initial attack, police chief Daniel Levy said
Police said the attack at Karkur Junction outside the city of Pardes Hama was being investigated as a terror attack. It came a week after a series of bus explosions near Tel Aviv that Israeli officials attributed to terrorists based in the West Bank.
Medical officials said a 17-year-old girl was fighting for her life following the attack , after being brought to Hillel Yaffe Hospital in Hadera in critical condition.
The Magen David Adom rescue service said the teen was sedated and hooked up to a ventilator, having sustained serious damage to her head and limbs.
A 60-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman were in serious condition also with head injuries, medics said. An 18-year-old woman was moderately injured, while the others sustained light injuries, MDA added.
Police told Channel 12 News that the suspect’s car accelerated before hitting a group of people waiting at a bus stop.
Grainy videos of the attack showed a sedan swerving suddenly into a bus stop on the side of the road at full speed before swerving back onto the divided highway and continuing on.
At least six people could be seen lying immobile on a grassy embankment next to the bus stop in separate footage from the immediate aftermath of the attack.
“From there the suspect tried to continue onward with the car. He accelerated toward a nearby police car and hit it. The officers chased him, caught him and neutralized him,” a police spokesperson said.
Police chief Levy told reporters that the attacker crashed into a patrol vehicle, got out of his car with a screwdriver and tried to stab police officers, who then shot and killed him.
Arabic-language media named the attacker as Jamil Zayoud, 53. Originally from the Jenin area, he had been living illegally in Ma’ale Iron with his Arab-Israeli wife, according to reports.
There was no claim of responsibility for the attack, but it drew praise from the Hamas terror group.
Thursday’s attack (27th) came three weeks after three empty buses exploded in quick succession in parking lots in the Tel Aviv suburbs of Bat Yam and Holon, followed by the discovery of two more unexploded devices on additional buses, in what appeared to be a botched attack. No casualties were reported as a result of the explosions.
Congress Backs Iranian Movement To Overthrow Supreme Leader Khamenei
Congress rarely witnesses true bipartisanship these days, yet 151 lawmakers have crossed party lines to introduce a resolution supporting an Iranian resistance movement’s fight to overthrow Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Introduced Wednesday (26th) ahead of a congressional hearing titled “The Future of Iran,” the resolution backs the Iranian people’s stated desire for a “democratic, secular and non-nuclear ‘Islamic Republic’ through regime change.
At the center of Congress’ push stands Maryan Rajavi, president elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), a leading opposition group known to Iranians as MEX.
For decades, the NCRI has positioned itself as the primary alternative to Iran’s tyrannical government..
Rajavi advocates for a 10-point plan to bring democracy and human rights to Iran. She calls for installing the NCRI as a provisional government for six months to establish elections and a constituent assembly.
Her plan has already gained support from 4,000 parliamentarians worldwide, according to Fox News.
“The developments of the past year have left no doubt that the source of terrorism and warmongering in the Middle East region is the theocratic Islamic Republic of Iran,” the resolution reads.
“The efforts of Western countries over the past 45 years to change the behavior of this regime have failed, and the ultimate solution to ending the Iranian regime’s threat is the establishment of a secular, democratic, and pluralistic republic by the Iranian people and resistance.”
Led by Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif), the resolution condemns Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s brutal human rights record, noting that roughly 500 prisoners have been executed after just four months in office,
Reports indicate many were labeled ”political prisoners,” without due process, and at least 17 women were among those executed.
The United Nations has demanded Pezeshkian cease his cruel execution campaign, which Rajavi says continues a pattern of institutional violence that has claimed approximately 120,000 lives over four decades.
Human rights monitors have also documented a disturbing rise in extreme punishments during his tenure, including a significant increase in hand amputations and other severe corporal penalties.
Congress’ push for an Iranian revolution comes as President Trump restarted his “maximum pressure” sanctions campaign against the regime.
Trump has long touted that, had he remained in office after the 2020 election, Iran would not have become the terror powerhouse that led to the deadly October 7, 2023 massacre against Israel by the proxy Hamas.
“Palestine” Has Proven Again It Is A Death Cult Of Lies – Melanie Phillips
What kind of people would want to murder a baby? What kind of people would exult over their coffins, as they cheered in a grisly open-air carnival of murderous hatred? Such behavior is not confined to Hamas. Palestinian Arabs in general have systematically targeted Jewish children and adults for barbaric and sadistic slaughter and mutilation.
In 2000, two Israeli soldiers took a wrong turn and drove into Ramallah in the West Bank. They were dragged into a police station where they were murdered. One of the bodies was thrown out the window to the mob that had gathered outside, which tore the body to shreds. In 2004, Arab terrorists opened fire on the Hatuel family’s car near their home in Gaza when Jews still lived there. They murdered at close range Tali Hatuel, who was eight months pregnant, and her four daughters, ages 11, 9, 7, and 2. In 2011, five members of the Israeli Fogel family, including 11-and 4-year-old boys and a 3-month-old baby, were massacred in their beds by two terrorists from a neighboring Arab village.
In 1929, Arab mobs massacred more than 70 Jews in Hebron. Albert Londres wrote of how these mobs behaved toward 50 of those Jews who tried to find refuge inside a bank. “They cut off hands, they cut off fingers, they held heads over a stove, they gouged out eyes… They mutilated the men. They shoved 13-year-old girls, mothers and grandmothers into the blood and assaulted them in unison.” The same kind of utterly depraved behavior is regularly exhibited by the Islamists of ISIS and Al-Qaeda.
Islamism is a death cult. So is its “Palestinian” offshoot. Inverting truth and lies, victim and aggressor, the West is unable to see the Palestinian cause for the evil that it is. As the West’s cultural elites undermine and hollow out their own civilization, the Islamic death cult is moving in for the kill – with the Palestinian Arabs creating the Trojan Horse of the Middle East
The writer is a columnist for the Times-UK.
