US military to host conference with over 25 countries in Doha next week to discuss plans for International Stabilization Force; it remains unclear how Hamas will be disarmed International troops could be deployed in the Gaza Strip as early as next month to form a UN-authorized stabilization force, two US …

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 …

The Syrian Investigative Reporting for Accountability Journalism Association (SIRAJ) and El País co-published a set of edited versions of this investigation. Ahmad* is 11 and has lost his hacksaw – or rather, it was stolen by a man whom he recognises as a former soldier of the toppled Syrian regime. …

West Bank – In a rare move, senior Israeli officials – including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, and Defence Minister Israel Katz – have publicly condemned the recent wave of settler attacks across the occupied West Bank. Settler attacks surged during the olive harvest in October, marking the …

Hamas officials are sending mixed messages over disarmament. On December 7, a day after Hamas leader Khaled Mashal rejected aspects of President Trump’s 20-point ceasefire plan for Gaza, including disarmament, senior official Bassem Naim said Hamas is open to discussions over its weapons. Separately, Hamas’s Taher al-Nunu vaguely suggested on …

Local factions in Suwayda renewed attacks on internal security forces affiliated with Syria’s Ministry of Interior, on the province’s western front, on Saturday, 13 December. Enab Baladi’s correspondent in Daraa (southern Syria) said local factions in Suwayda targeted an internal security vehicle with a bomb-laden drone in the town of …

If Netanyahu and Sisi meet this month, Washington should press both leaders to treat the summit as the beginning of a structured trilateral process on Gaza, not a one-off symbolic encounter. U.S. officials are working quietly to broker the first public meeting in years between Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu …

When U.S. President Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025, Europe faced a choice. As Trump made draconian demands for greater European defense spending, threatened European exports with sweeping new tariffs, and challenged long-held European values on democracy and the rule of law, European leaders could either assume a …

An analysis of the forgotten aspects of the Dayton Peace Agreement: human rights as a basis for a just and lasting peace and their importance for the peace talks in Ukraine Sunday 14 December marks the 30th anniversary of the formal ratification of the General Framework Agreement for Peace or …

The revolutionaries who entered Damascus wasted little time before beginning to reorganise and restructure Syria’s domestic policies. After the “Military Operations Administration” secured the capital and protected public property, it announced that the new government would begin its work as soon as it was formed. While news of the ousted …