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
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
Geopolitical observers are once again confronted with a precarious situation in the post-October 7, 2023, Middle East. The recent escalation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah is merely the latest development in a long-simmering conflict that has been allowed to fester for nearly two decades. Hezbollah and Israel first clashed during the South Lebanon conflict
Despite its rich tradition as a cradle of learning dating back to ancient Mesopotamia, and a leading educational system in the Middle East by the mid-twentieth century, Iraq’s educational landscape has faced significant challenges. The 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq war, the 1991 Gulf War, and subsequent international sanctions severely damaged educational infrastructure and funding, leading to a
President Bashar al-Assad set July 15 as election day for the 250 seats of the Syrian People’s Assembly held in the areas controlled by his government. As the electoral process unfolds, a series of articles will deconstruct the key elements of Syrian elections and their role in legitimizing Baath Party rule. This series will also
Almost nine months after the horrific events of October 7, 2023, and the ensuing war against Hamas’s rule in Gaza by the Israeli military, the strategic picture has not changed in a way that Israel and its allies wanted. While Hamas is, in fact, weakened tactically and operationally, the group has not been strategically defeated
As the war in Gaza approaches its tenth month, there is palpable desperation on the part of the Joe Biden administration to end the conflict and its attendant political consequences. So far, the administration has struggled to justify its near-unconditional support of the Israeli government in light of the tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians
In an era of significant global turbulence and intense human tragedy, North African governments have demonstrated that there is opportunity in crisis. Until recently, the regimes in Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Morocco were significantly stressed. Record-high consumer prices, combined with widespread youth unemployment and deepening repression—all in the absence of clear pathways for meaningful leadership change—suggested
While some elements that constitute the Syrian National Army (SNA) have moved away from their revolutionary foundations and turned into a contractor structure for Turkey’s foreign operations across various regional conflicts, others are trying to transform into an organized army under civilian leadership. Although the SNA’s previous attempts at institutionalization and reform through coalitions of
