In June, the United Nations (UN) Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel (COI) issued a report examining violations of international human rights law, humanitarian law, and criminal law committed by all parties to the Israel-Hamas conflict from October 7, 2023, to December 31, 2023. The report
Wing of Zion—Israel’s homemade version of Air Force One—touched down at Joint Base Andrews on July 22, carrying Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the United States on a journey of firsts. The refurbished Boeing 767, on its maiden transport of an Israeli premier, escorted Netanyahu on his long-awaited first visit to Washington since President
Belarus is often overlooked by the Euro-Atlantic policy-making community, with many taking for granted the relative stability represented by Belarusian dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka during his three decades in power. In reality, however, today’s Belarus may soon reach a fork in the road that will force its people to choose between European democracy and Eurasian autocracy.
The annual NATO summit in early July resulted in a range of encouraging statements and practical measures in support of Ukraine. However, this widely anticipated gathering in Washington DC failed to produce the kind of decisive steps that could convince Vladimir Putin to end his invasion. It was already clear some time before the NATO
“Our enemies are your enemies. Our fight is your fight. And our victory will be your victory.” That was the message Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered on Wednesday to a joint session of the US Congress that dozens of lawmakers refused to attend. In his speech, Netanyahu called for further US support for Israel
As August approaches, so does the tenth anniversary of the 2014 Yezidi genocide in Sinjar, Iraq—and with it, the question of accountability in US courts of law. Admittedly, the US government and legal system have been working to hold perpetrators of the genocide—members of the self-styled Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS)—to account. These
Last Friday, Belarus introduced a new visa-free regime allowing citizens from thirty-five European countries to stay for up to ninety days per year. This move is notable given the current tensions between the Belarusian regime of Alyaksandr Lukashenka and the West. The visa-free policy seems to be a strategic propaganda effort from Minsk to ease
On July 19, Wall Street Journal reporter and US citizen Evan Gershkovich was sentenced to sixteen years in Russian prison on espionage charges. The same day, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reporter Alsu Kurmasheva, a journalist who holds dual American-Russian citizenship, was sentenced to six and a half years by a Russian court for supposedly spreading
During his press conference at the NATO Summit in Washington earlier this month, Joe Biden said of his presidential campaign, “I’m not in this for my legacy.” Two weeks and one difficult decision to bow out of the race later, his legacy is suddenly front and center. That legacy, however, depends importantly on something he
As I listened to world leaders announce the signing of the Ukraine Compact on the sidelines of NATO’s 75th anniversary summit at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, my mind drifted back to September 13, 2022. On that cold, rainy day, Anders Fogh Rasmussen and I first unveiled the Kyiv Security Compact concept. President Zelenskyy’s
