Courts and the law

People shop in a market on June 17, 2025 in Damascus, Syria.

Senate vote paves way for Trump to repeal Syria’s Caesar sanctions

President Trump is poised to sign bipartisan legislation scrapping the sanctions that are seen as a major obstacle to Syria's economic recovery.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) meets with US special envoy Tom Barrack, Jerusalem, Dec. 15 2

Analysis

Trump's Syria envoy Barrack tests Israel's patience as Netanyahu pushes back

The struggle between the Israeli prime minister and the envoy is an acknowledgment by Israeli leaders that "what will happen is what Trump wants to happen."

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

Jasmine

Culture

Turkey launches probe into HBO series citing ‘moral’ values: What to know

The probe into the TV series has fueled debate over censorship and artistic freedom in the country.

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

Latest News

Analysis

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

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.

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

Turkey sentences journalist over 4 years in jail for threatening Erdogan

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

Analysis

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

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)

Beatrice Farhat

By Beatrice Farhat

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

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.

An installation of a crashed Israel Air Force fighter jet is displayed in a protest against the government's judicial reform bill, Tel Aviv, Israel, March 29, 2023.

Analysis

Israel’s army readiness, Air Force cohesion at risk over judicial overhaul rift

Senior IDF officers fear that not only the operational readiness of the soldiers could be damaged by the refusal of reservists to show up for duty, the cohesion and the spirit of the whole army could take a serious blow.

Lilach Shoval

By Lilach Shoval

Fisherman work on a fish farm off the coast of Moroccan city of M'diq, on October 3, 2019. - With fish stocks declining in the Mediterranean, struggling Moroccan fisherman are hoping to turn to aquaculture as a way to secure their future. Figures from Morocco's department of maritime fishing confirm the decline. Catches in the eastern Oriental region dropped from 14.7 tonnes to 7.4 between 2013 and 2017. (Photo by FADEL SENNA / AFP) (Photo by FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Expiration of Morocco-EU fisheries deal has implications beyond Western Sahara

Olivia Hooper

By Olivia Hooper

Soldiers with Israel's Nahal Brigade take part in a military exercise in the Hula Valley, northern Israel, July 10, 2023.

Analysis

Iran on Washington’s mind as concerns over Israel army fissures grow

The joint military drills, continued security dialogue and visit in Israel by the CENTCOM commander, all reflect growing concerns in the United States over the readiness of the IDF.

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

People demonstrate outside the US Embassy in Tel Aviv.

Biden walks tightrope as Israel’s democracy tested

The judicial overhaul pursued by Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing coalition has bitterly divided Israeli society and cast further strain on US-Israel ties.

JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images

Amid internal crisis, Israel fights to retain hi-tech industry with tax benefits

The Israeli government has issued a new law to encourage investment in tech startups as firms consider fleeing the country on the back of the judicial overhaul.

Demonstrators clash with Israeli riot police.

Israel's protest movement takes judicial overhaul battle to media, courts

Israel’s main newspapers on Tuesday morning published blacked-out front pages in a coordinated campaign by the protest movement.

Demonstrators gather around a burning flare during a protest rally against the Israeli government's judicial reform plan in Tel Aviv on July 24, 2023. Israeli lawmakers on July 24 approved a key clause of a controversial judicial reform plan that aims to curb the powers of the Supreme Court in striking down government decisions. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Israel’s enemies gloat, friends concerned over judicial overhaul chaos

While Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah relishes over growing internal rift within the Israeli society, Washington is increasingly concerned and making calls to senior Israeli officials to manage the crisis.

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

Israeli security forces detain a demonstrator near the Knesset.

White House says Israel's judicial overhaul vote 'unfortunate'

Following a controversial vote in Israel's parliament, the White House urged the country's leaders to "build a broader consensus through political dialogue.”

Israeli security forces use a water cannon to disperse demonstrators blocking the entrance of the Knesset.

Breaking | Last Updated: July 24, 2023, 3:05 pm

Israel’s Knesset adopts first judicial overhaul bill despite US warnings

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heralded the passing at the Knesset plenum of the first bill of his judicial overhaul plan.

Members of Israel's security forces remove protesters blocking the Knesset entrance amid a monthslong wave of protests against the government's planned judicial overhaul, Jerusalem, July 24, 2023.

Israeli protests block Knesset entrance ahead of judicial overhaul vote

President Isaac Herzog is seeking a compromise in order to postpone the expected vote today on the first element of the government’s judicial overhaul plan.

Members of Israeli security forces disperse demonstrators staging a 'day of resistance' to protest the government's judicial overhaul bill, in Tel Aviv on July 18, 2023. The proposals have divided the nation and triggered one of the biggest protest movements in Israel's history since being unveiled in January by the hard-right government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Israeli army faces internal fissures over judicial overhaul as Iran watches

The refusal of hundreds of pilots and air force officers to show up for volunteer reserve duty marks the unprecedented rift hovering over Israel’s society generated by the government’s judicial overhaul plan.

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

US President Joe Biden meets with Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

Biden pledges Iran 'never acquires nuclear weapon' as he hosts Israel’s Herzog

In his comment before his meeting with Israel's President Isaac Herzog, President Joe Biden did not address the Netanyahu government's judicial overhaul plan. But he did reiterate the US commitment to Israel's security and the strong ties between the two countries.