News Digest — 11/25/25
Israeli Forces In Nablus Kill Palestinian Behind Deadly Car-Ramming Attack In May 2024 Killing Two Soldiers
A Palestinian assailant accused of being behind a deadly car-ramming attack in May 2024 was killed by counterterrorism police in the city of Nablus on Monday evening (24th), the Israeli Defense Forces, Shin Bet and Police said .
On May 29, 2024, Abdul -Raouf Shatyeh rammed his vehicle into an Israeli army post just outside Nablus killing two soldiers: Staff Sergeant Eliya Hillel, and Staff Sergeant Diego Shvisha Harsaj, both 20-year-old infantrymen in the Kfir Brigade’s Nahshon Battalion.
During a raid on Monday night (24th), officers of the Police elite Yamam counterterrorism unit closed in on a building in eastern Nablus where Shatyeh was holed up. After it emerged that he was armed, the troops opened fire on the building, and later, using a drone, identified that he had been killed, police said.
The IDF and Shin Bet said that they had been working to track down Shatyeh since he fled the scene of the attack in 2024.
After the attack, Shatyeh fled to Nablus and initially turned himself over to the Palestinian Authority’s security forces. However, instead of being handed over to Israel, he was freed from the PA’s custody, and has been wanted ever since.
In addition, several “accomplices” who were working with Shatyeh were detained by IDF soldiers in Nablus, the military added.
Violence in the West Bank has soared since the Hamas attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war in October 2023.
More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces since the war started, according to the PA health Ministry. The IDF says the vast majority of them were gunmen killed in exchanges of fire, rioters who clashed with troops or terrorists carrying out attacks.
During the same period, 63 others, including Israeli security personnel, have been killed in terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank. Another eight members of the security forces were killed in clashes during raids in Palestinian cities in the West Bank.
Danon To PA Representative: ‘You Will Not Be In Gaza’
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon participated on Monday (24th) in the Security Council’s discussion on the Middle East, and addressed the Palestinian Authority’s representative, Riyad Mansour, directly.
In his remarks, he accused the Authority of being unable to stop terrorism in Judea and Samaria, and noted that despite a large security force, terrorists operate freely.
“The Palestinian Authority is unable to stop terrorism even in Judea and Samaria. It has more than 32,000 armed operatives. The PA has proven incapable of confronting radicals. Terror groups operate openly. Iranian weapons slip in unchecked. Extremists grow stronger because no one stops them,” Danon told the PA representative.
Ambassador Danon added: “Israel has to step in to seize the weapons. The PA ignores to dismantle the cells, and won’t confront and disarm the terrorists it refuses to challenge.”
The ambassador emphasized that elements that are unable to deal with terrorists “and continue to reward them,” as he put it, are not a solution – and certainly will not lead Gaza in the future.
“Those who are unable to confront terrorists and continue to reward them are the problem, not the solution, and they will certainly not rule Gaza,” Danon concluded.
Weakened Hezbollah Hesitates On Retaliation while Israel Warns Of Escalation- Analysis
A day after the assassination of Hezbollah’s Chief of Staff Ali Tabatabai, the terror group is primarily working to reassure Arab media outlets that it has no intention of launching a response against Israel.
Publicly or anonymously quoted , Hezbollah aligned parliamentarians are briefing that “the diplomatic route is preferable” and that “we are weighing how to respond.”
In truth, Hezbollah is in trouble. Its weapons reserves and ability to launch significant strikes are nowhere near what they were before the war. Even with recent rearmament efforts through Syrian smuggling routes, the group remains far from restoring its previous strength.
That raises a fundamental question within the organization: would a limited strike – one that risks provoking a far more forceful Israeli retaliation, described by Israeli officials as “disproportionate” be worth the risk?
Israel, for its part, has sent a clear message to the Lebanese government: any attack will lead to escalation. “The killing in Beirut is an isolated incident – but if there is a response, that’s a completely different story,” according to a message Israel delivered to the mechanism that oversees the ceasefire in Lebanon.
Another layer of complexity comes from the split within Lebanon’s leadership over how to respond. The Lebanese President released a fiery statement claiming the strike in the Dahiyah shows Israel has ignored repeated appeals to stop its operations. In contrast, the prime minister called for rallying behind the state, insisting that past experience demonstrates that real stability depends on fully enforcing UN Resolution 1701.
The US position is unambiguous. Israel acted within its rights. The US State Department said that “the complete disarmament of Hezbollah is the only path for Lebanon to achieve lasting peace and stability.”
In Washington, frustration with the Lebanese government is growing, and in recent weeks, officials have issued firmer warnings that it’s time to dismantle Hezbollah. Even a planned visit by the Lebanese Army chief to Washington was canceled at the last minute after he called Israel an enemy. “Hezbollah is your enemy,” US officials made clear.
It’s unlikely that Beirut is shedding tears for Tabatabai. But now the world – and the region – must wait: Will this strike on the heart of Beirut move the needle on disarming Hezbollah? Or will tensions in the land of the cedars only deepen?
Sa’ar To Paraguayan Congress : Against An Axis Of Terror – An Alliance Of Liberty Must Rise
Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa’ar delivered an address on Monday (24th) before a special joint session of Paraguay’s National Congress in Asuncion, highlighting the deep ties between Israel and Paraguay and calling for a united international stand against terror states.
The session was attended by President of the Senate Basilio Gustavo Nunez and President of the Chamber of Deputies Raul Latorre.
Sa’ar opened by emphasizing the historic moment in relations between the two countries, describing Israel and Paraguay as “sister nations” and expressing appreciation for the hospitality he received in Asuncion. He noted Paraguay’s history of hardship, including devastating wars and years of dictatorship, and praised the country’s resilience in building a strong democracy.
Referencing the long-standing friendship between the nations, Sa’ar reminded lawmakers that Paraguay voted for the establishment of the State of Israel at the UN in 1947 and was among the first to recognize the new state. “The Jewish people are a nation that remembers,” he said, adding that Israel would never forget Paraguay’s support.
Sa’ar highlighted a new memorandum of understanding on security cooperation signed during his visit, calling it a significant expression of the strategic partnership. He arrived with a business delegation aimed at expanding cooperation in areas including water technology, agriculture, cyber, and renewable energy. Paraguay’s projected growth for 2025, he noted, reflects a strong and expanding economy in which Israel seeks to deepen its involvement.
Turning to Jerusalem, the minister stressed the city’s centrality to the Jewish people and rejected efforts to deny Israel’s historical and biblical ties. He reiterated Israel’s position that only Israeli sovereignty ensures freedom of worship for all faiths. Sa’ar also praised Paraguay’s decision to establish its embassy in Jerusalem, with both former President Horacio Cartes and President Santiago Pena taking the step during their respective terms.
In the central portion of his speech, Sa’ar focused on what he described as the growing threat of “terror states” – territories controlled by terror groups that function as state-like entities. He warned that Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthis in Yemen have built extensive military infrastructures that reach far beyond the Middle East. He cited examples of cooperation between terror groups across Africa and Latin America, including connections to networks operating out of Venezuela.
Sa’ar said these terror states weaponize international aid, embed themselves in civilian life, and use state-level capabilities to pursue jihadist objectives. He argued that uprooting such entities requires coordinated international action and called on Western democracies to unite against the “axis of terror.”
He noted that Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis have been weakened but not dismantled, and referenced the recent elimination of Hezbollah Chief of Staff Ali Tabatabai, whom he described as responsible for mass murder and efforts to rebuild Hezbollah’s military capacity.
Sa’ar praised Paraguay for expanding terror designations to include the political wings of Hamas and Hezbollah, as well as Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. He called this another example of the moral dimension in Paraguay’s foreign policy.
The minister also commended President Pena’s leadership, noting that Paraguay has issued 65 statements in support of Israel since October 7: “We won’t forget it,” he told the lawmakers, thanking them for their “moral clarity.”
Sa’ar concluded by reaffirming the strength of Israel-Paraguay relations and expressing confidence that the two nations would continue to accomplish more together.
“Viva Paraguay, Viva Israel,” he ended. “We will always stand with you – with the people of Paraguay.”
Last Of The ‘Bnei Menashe’ To Be Brought To Israel Within Five Years
The government approved on Sunday (23rd) a plan to bring the last 6,000 members of the so-called “lost tribe” of Menashe (Manasseh) to Israel within five years.
While about 5,000 Bnei (sons of) Menashe currently live in Israel, having trickled in over the last 20 years, they have had great trouble bringing the rest of their community, which is based in the northeastern Indian states of Mizoram and Manipur.
The decision will enable some 1,200 immigrants to hopefully arrive by the end of 2026, with an Israeli delegation leaving to start processing their immigration applications by next week.
The rest are expected to come by 2030, which will finally reunite all families who have been apart for years.
According to Prime MInister Benjamin Netanyahu, who submitted the proposal with Aliyah and Immigration MInister Ofir Sofer, the Bnei Menashe will be settled in areas that were hit hard by the war in northern Israel.
“This is an important and Zionist decision that will also bring strength to the North and the Galilee,” he said.
There are already concentrations of Bnei Menashe in northern towns such as Maalot and Carmiel as well as Sderot in the south and in villages in Judea and Samaria.
The cost of the project is estimated at NIS90 million, which will include immigration rights, housing costs, Hebrew instruction (ulpan), and an Orthodox conversion.
All Bnei Menashe who come to Israel must undergo conversion because the community was only recognized in 2005 as being “of Jewish descent” by Israel’s chief rabbinate.
The group began keeping Jewish law and establishing synagogues and ritual baths after learning from Orthodox groups such as Shavei Israel, which supports Aliyeh by descendants of lost tribes and took the group under its wing.
The community traces its ancestry to Menashe (Manasseh), the son of Jacob, believing that the tribe made its way to India after the Assyrian dispersion of the Ten tribes prior to the destruction of the First Temple.
The Bnei Menashe are “passionate Zionists and care deeply about the State of Israel, its citizens and their security,” Shavei Israel Chairman Michael Freund told The Jerusalem Post last year at the height of the War in the Gaza Strip.
More than 200 of its men were in the IDF fighting both Hamas and Hezbollah, the organization said, and Freund noted that “since the outbreak of the war, we have received hundreds of requests from young community members in northeastern India who wish to immigrate to Israel and enlist immediately in the IDF to fight shoulder to shoulder with their brothers and sisters.”
Hamas Exploits Western Ignorance Of War – Maj. (ret.) Andrew Fox
I am neither Jewish nor Israeli. In the case of Israel’s war in Gaza, my experiences, academic knowledge, and military training lead me to believe that the IDF has fought this war in a manner that adheres to the laws of armed conflict. If I thought Israel was committing genocide or war crimes at scale, I would say so. Having weighed up the facts, I believe the evidence I have seen points to the opposite conclusion.
The vast majority of those criticizing Israel have not seen firsthand evidence. Most have only seen carefully curated Hamas propaganda, filtered through complicit media working with Hamas, amplified and repeated unwittingly by other news outlets, and turbocharged by social media.
This propaganda campaign works on emotion. Israel’s enemies have weaponized the power of empathy. They have taken the images of war and have portrayed them as something unique. In doing so, they spin the world’s only Jewish state, and the only democracy in the Middle East, as something uniquely evil.
People do not understand the true depth of the horror of Oct. 7 nor do they understand what a war looks like when fought against a terrorist state on your own border. War is a terrible thing, in which civilians and children always suffer the most, especially when forced into harm’s way by their own leaders’ policy of human sacrifice for PR gains.
People deny what I have seen with my own eyes, based on things they themselves have only seen on social media. And because I represent the rational narrative, I am told that I am uniquely evil – with all the death threats and insults that come with that designation. I will continue to share what I believe to be true because when the dust settles from Gaza, a just outcome needs the truth in its corner.
The writer, who served in the British Army for 16 years, is a research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society.
