Terrorism Counterterrorism
The Israeli Unlawful Combatants Law Turns Twenty
Twenty years ago, in 2002, Israel enacted the Law on Incarceration of Unlawful Combatants (UCL or “the Law”). The UCL aimed to provide a basis in domestic legislation, in conformity with international law, for preventively detaining unlawful combatants, namely, those...
Foreign Fighters: The Terrorism/IHL Conundrum and the Need for Cumulative Prosecution
The attack launched by ISIS on 20 January 2022 against the Al-Sina’a Prison in Al-Hasakah, an area situated in North-Eastern Syria and currently under the authority of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, with the intention of freeing ISIS fighters held there,...
Special Forces, Unprivileged Belligerency, and the War in the Shadows
The February 24, 2022 invasion of Ukraine resulted in news reports of fear in the streets of Kyiv as Ukrainian forces engaged in “a frantic hunt for spies and traitors,” as well as saboteurs and teams seeking to kill President Zelensky and 23 other leaders within...
Terrorist Offences and IHL: The Armed Conflict Exclusion Clause
In our current article in the International Review of the Red Cross, we discuss the so-called “armed conflict exclusion clause” (also known as an “international humanitarian law (IHL) exclusion clause” or “IHL savings clause”). This clause regulates the relationship...
The U.S. Legal Obligation to Take Precautions to Minimize Civilian Harm
U.S. Special Forces recently conducted a raid against the residence of the Islamic State’s leader. President Biden and other U.S. Department of Defense officials ordered a ground operation rather than an air strike to conduct the attack. They characterized this...
Through the Drone Looking Glass: Visualization Technologies and Military Decision-Making
On 29 August 2021, the U.S. military launched its last drone strike in Afghanistan before American troops withdrew from the country. The strike targeted a white Toyota Corolla near Kabul’s international airport, driven by Zemari Ahmadi, believed to be carrying an ISIS...