International Law

Is 'Purity of Arms' holding the IDF back? Inside Israel’s battle over military ethics

Fighters are expected to avoid harming noncombatants, including civilians, prisoners, and the defenseless, as much as possible, and to maintain their humanity even in the midst of combat.

|ByJUDITH SEGALOFF
IDF LEAFLET warns against violence, on a Palestinian car in Hebron, Nov. 2025.
Workers operate on a lead line connected to fiber optic cable at Arrietara beach, near Bilbao, northern Spain, June 13, 2017, as Facebook Inc. and Microsoft Corp. join forces to build an underwater fiber optic cable across the Atlantic Ocean, linking Europe and the USA.

Iranian media pushing for regime to sever international undersea fiber-optic cables in Hormuz

The managing editor of the ultra-conservative Kayhan newspaper insisted that disrupting or cutting off the internet cables was a “necessary measure” to respond to the “crimes of America."

|ByDANIELLE GREYMAN-KENNARD
The United Nations headquarters before a meeting on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty at the UN, in New York City, US, April 27, 2026.

Stop explaining. It is time for the UN to answer Israel’s questions

Israel has answered questions about its conduct for decades, and must continue to answer legitimate ones. But after decades of exceptional institutional scrutiny, Israel is entitled to ask questions

|ByDR. MICHAEL MIRILASHVILI
Michael Mirilashvili

The UN has exhausted its credit of trust. It's time for Israel to take the first step

Trust can only be rebuilt through the formation of new international alliances grounded in shared values, mutual responsibility, and respect for international law.

|ByDR. MICHAEL MIRILASHVILI

World Court dismisses much of Ukraine's case against Russia

Kyiv had accused Moscow of violating two United Nations treaties

JANUARY 31, 2024ByREUTERS
Ukrainian service members speak to each other in the industrial area of the city of Sievierodonetsk, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, Ukraine June 20, 2022.

Israel must abide by int'l law despite Hamas cynicism - Opinion

According to international law, there are certain instances in which it is permissible to attack hospitals.

JANUARY 31, 2024ByTAL MIMRAN
AN IDF soldier walks through a tunnel underneath Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, in November.

Is the ICJ's ruling a verdict or a vindication? - opinion

Israel wasn't ordered to cease fire, but that is far from a vindication.

JANUARY 31, 2024ByIAN WOODBRIDGE
PRO-PALESTINIAN protesters pose for a photo in front of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, last Friday. ‘The ICJ has handed Israel, however unintentional it may be, a golden public relations ticket that it so desperately needs,’ the writer argues.

The 'Palestinianization' of international law - opinion

Some may think this is solely Israel’s problem. That the double standard will stop there. I disagree.  

JANUARY 18, 2024ByROBERT NEUFELD
A MAN wearing a 'Free Palestine' cap welcomes members of the South African legal team against Israel at the ICJ after their return home, at the airport in Johannesburg, earlier this week.

IDF lawyer to 'Post': We comply with int'l law because of duty to democracy

Senior IDF military lawyer details legal weight of attacks with heavy civilian casualties.

DECEMBER 26, 2023ByYONAH JEREMY BOB
Israeli soldiers stand near the opening to a tunnel at Al Shifa Hospital compound in Gaza City, November 22, 2023

IDF lawyer to 'Post': Why the Israel-Hamas war is like no other - exclusive

The official said the IDF believes it has taken all “feasible” precautions to warn civilians – only this time, “feasible” is more limited.

DECEMBER 25, 2023ByYONAH JEREMY BOB
IDF troops of the 5th Brigade operate in the north Gaza city of Beit Hanoun. December 22, 2023.

Don't reward Hamas's war crimes - opinion

Hamas intentionally hides in Gazan hospitals, schools, and homes because it understands, perversely, that a higher Gazan casualty rate will bring about greater international pressure on Israel.

NOVEMBER 27, 2023ByRUSSELL AVRAHAM SHALEV
An Israeli soldier walks through a tunnel underneath Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, November 22, 2023

'Countries providing aid to Hamas-controlled Gaza are breaking the law' - expert

"As long as we have a degree of certainty that some of the aid is being diverted to Hamas - and we do have that certainty - then all the states of the world must refrain from providing [it]."

OCTOBER 26, 2023ByMAAYAN JAFFE-HOFFMAN
Egyptian cleaning workers are seen in front of the Rafah crossing from the Egyptian side, while trucks carrying humanitarian aid for Palestinians await for it to open to enter Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, in Rafah, Egypt October 19, 2023.

The false and deceitful charges against Israel - opinion

As Hamas is forcibly using civilians as human shields, Hamas has the full responsibility for any collateral harm.

OCTOBER 25, 2023ByALAN BAKER
THE AFTERMATH of the pogrom carried out by Hamas terrorists at Kibbutz Be’eri, near the border with Gaza: Despite the unimaginably horrific nature of the slaughter, it was soon followed in the world by a wave of antisemitism.

How could war affect ICC’s view of Israel and Hamas? - analysis

Israel has its own mechanisms for probing and prosecuting its soldiers accused of war crimes.

OCTOBER 23, 2023ByYONAH JEREMY BOB
INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL Court, The Hague.