Courts and the law

Security personnel from the Syrian Ministry of Interior stand outside the Justice Palace ahead of the first trial of more than a dozen suspects linked to massacres that left hundreds dead in Syria's Alawite coastal heartland earlier this year, in Aleppo on November 18, 2025. The first trial of more than a dozen suspects linked to massacres that left hundreds dead in Syria's Alawite coastal heartland earlier this year began on November 18, an AFP journalist in the courtroom said. The massacres in March, whic

Feature

A year since Assad’s fall, Aleppo trial tests Syria’s transitional justice

Syria recently launched its first open trial on the deadly sectarian violence in March, but questions about judicial independence and political influence make the upcoming hearings a major test of accountability in post-Assad Syria as the first anniversary of Assad’s fall approaches.

Alessandra Bajec

By Alessandra Bajec

In this handout by the Israeli Government Press Office, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) looks on as military chief of staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz (R) adjusts the epaulettes of Brig. Gen. Eyal Zamir for his swearing in as military secretary, Tel Aviv, Nov. 26, 2012.

Analysis

Why Netanyahu seeks to remove Israel’s military chief Eyal Zamir

Despite the army's achievements and the challenges it now faces, the Israeli prime minister is doing everything in his power to persuade military chief Eyal Zamir to quit.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Prominent Turkish journalist Fatih Altayli is pictured in this undated image.

Turkey sentences journalist over 4 years in jail for threatening Erdogan

Prominent Turkish journalist Fatih Altayli was sentenced to over four years in prison in a trial government critics say aimed at silencing one of Turkey's most influential journalists and intended to intimidate journalists nationwide.

Bassam Hammoud the vice president of the Jamaa Islamiya in Lebanon, brandishes a rifle as he delivers a speech during a demonstration in Sidon in southern Lebanon on July 19, 2024, a day after an Israeli strike in the Bekaa region killed Mohammed Hamed Jabara, the commander of the Hamas-allied group in Lebanon. (Photo by Mahmoud ZAYYAT / AFP) (Photo by MAHMOUD ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Lebanon's Jamaa Islamiya in spotlight as US moves to designate Muslim Brotherhood

The Lebanese branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, al-Jamaa al-Islamiya, is a major Sunni political party in the country. But its armed wing has repeatedly attacked Israel during the war with Hezbollah, putting the group under US scrutiny.

Beatrice Farhat

By Beatrice Farhat

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Latest News

Interview

Can protests in Israel halt Netanyahu's second attempt at judicial overhaul?

Shikma Bressler, an Israeli physicist and one of the leaders of the protest against the government's judicial overhaul.

Analysis

After Trump’s pardon letter to Herzog, 4 scenarios emerge for Netanyahu’s trial

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participates in a joint news conference with US President Donald Trump (not pictured) in the State Dining Room at the White House, on Sept. 29, 2025, in Washington.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

NFL star Antonio Brown extradited from Dubai: What to know

Antonio Brown #84 of the Pittsburgh Steelers celebrates a touchdown during the second half against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Dec. 23, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

United Arab Emirates

French cement giant Lafarge on trial for ‘funding terrorism’ in Syria: What to know

Former Director General of Lafarge Bruno Lafont (C) and French lawyer Jacqueline Laffont arrive on the opening day of the trial.

Court's president Joan Donoghue (C) and associate judges arrive to hear South African arguments to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as part of South Africa case against Israel over Rafah offensive in The Hague, on May 16, 2024.

Breaking | Last Updated: May 24, 2024, 1:16 pm

ICJ orders Israel to 'immediately halt' military operations in Rafah

The Hague-based International Court of Justice accepted part of a request by South Africa in issuing its order.

This photograph taken in Lyon, eastern France, on Sept. 5, 2023, shows the entrance of the International Criminal Police Organization headquarters, known as Interpol.

Interpol red notice for mother, son who fled Turkey to US after hit-and-run

A lawyer of the family of the man who died in the fatal car crash says the move raised their hopes for justice.

DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty Images

What we know: ICC seeks arrest warrants against Netanyahu, Sinwar

International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan announced Monday that his office has applied for arrest warrants against three Hamas leaders over the Oct. 7 attack on Israel as well as for Israel's prime minister and defense chief over the subsequent Gaza war.

NICK GAMMON/AFP via Getty Images

Israel accuses South Africa of aligning with Hamas, distorting facts in ICJ case

The Israeli legal team accused South Africa of distorting the truth and ignoring facts in an effort to help Hamas.

South African professor of International Law John Dugard and South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor (R) arrive at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) prior to the verdict announcement in the genocide case against Israel, brought by South Africa, in The Hague on January 26, 2024. The top UN court said Israel should do everything it could to prevent any acts of genocide in the Gaza Strip, in a highly anticipated ruling. Israel must do everything to "prevent the co

South Africa calls on ICJ to end 'Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza'

South Africa claims that Israel did not fulfill provisional measures issued by the ICJ to prevent genocidal acts against Palestinians in Gaza.

ROBIN VAN LONKHUIJSEN/ANP/AFP via Getty Images

ICJ to host hearing on Israel's Rafah operation

The International Court of Justice will conduct hearings this Thursday and Friday to discuss a new request by South Africa to order Israel to stop its Rafah operation.

This picture shows a view of the newsroom at the main headquarters of Qatari news broadcaster Al Jazeera in the capital Doha on May 6, 2024. Al Jazeera went off-air in Israel on May 5, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government decided to shut it down following a long-running feud, a move the Qatar-based channel decried as "criminal". (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP) (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Why closure of Al Jazeera is futile and slippery slope for Israel

There is broad understanding in Israel that shutting down Al Jazeera's local outfit is not only technologically impossible but also harmful to Israel's international image.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan looks on during an interview with AFP at the Cour d'Honneur of the Palais Royal in Paris on Feb. 7, 2024.

Can Republicans in Congress punish ICC if it issues Israel arrest warrants?

“Target Israel and we will target you,” lawmakers warn prosecutor Karim Khan, as the court reportedly prepares to indict the Israeli prime minister and other Israeli officials.

An Egyptian policeman stands guard on Cairo's landmark Tahrir Square on Jan. 25, 2017.

Egypt investigating killing of Israeli businessman in Alexandria

Egyptian police are currently investigating the killing of an Israeli businessman in Alexandria on Tuesday.

International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor Karim Khan speaks during a press conference in Bogota on June 6, 2023.

ICC warns against intimidation amid rumors of warrants for Israel PM, others

The office of International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan emphasized that attempts to influence the ICC's work constitute an offense against the administration of justice under the Rome Statute.

Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, attends the opening of a new mosque in Rafah, Feb. 24, 2017.

Analysis

As Netanyahu huffs and puffs, Israel on hold waiting for Sinwar, ICC

When faced with threat of ICC arrest warrants, Netanyahu told Biden that with an Israeli invasion of Rafah and an escalation in clashes with Hezbollah would ensue if the United States does not help block the warrants.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

BERLIN, GERMANY - MARCH 16: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (not pictured) visit the Gleis 17 memorial, which commemorates Berlin Jews deported by the Nazis to concentration camps during World War II, during a one-day visit by Netanyahu on March 16, 2023 in Berlin, Germany. Netanyahu's visit is being accompanied by protests in Berlin today, including both by people angry over Israel’s policies towards Palestinians as well as those critical of possible new legislat

Analysis

As Israel awaits Hamas response, Netanyahu frets over possible ICC warrants

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seems torn between trying to reassure the International Criminal Court and appeasing his hard-line coalition partners on the Cairo cease-fire talks.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense