Orientul Mijlociu

Located among the sprawling dunes of Israel’s southern desert is a central component of what Avner Cohen calls his country’s “worst kept secret.”

The Negev Nuclear Research Center, officially renamed in 2018 after late Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres and often referred to by the name of the nearby city of Dimona, is widely known to be the complex where Israel first underwent the project to obtain nuclear weapons back in the late 1950s.

Introduction

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) is an Islamist political and militant group mainly operating in Syria’s Greater Idleb area, which includes parts of Aleppo’s western countryside, the Lattakia mountains, and al-Ghab Plain in northwestern Hama. HTS leadership was historically composed of both Syrian and foreign Islamists, with links to the Islamic State and al-Qaeda. However, the group’s current identity is largely Syrian Islamist, reflecting a pragmatic shift in its strategic goals. HTS has rebranded itself from a former transnational Salafi-Jihadi group to a more localized Islamist group that at times targets and clashes with other radical Islamist groups such as the Islamic State and the al-Qaeda-affiliated Hurras-al-Din. With this change, the group has increasingly sought to cultivate a more moderate public image.

This paper examines the complex situation of foreign fighters in Syria after the change of the former regime, details their composition, explores the long-term challenges and risks arising from their integration into the new Syrian army, their leadership roles, and the consequences of this locally and internationally, and addresses the issue of thousands of foreign fighters detained from ISIS. It reviews the future scenarios of these fighters, whether those involved in the structures of the new state, or ISIS detainees with the Syrian Democratic Forces.

Hamas is a U.S.-designated terrorist organization which has killed hundreds of Israeli citizens, as well as Americans, in suicide bombings and other terrorist attacks. Hamas has governed the Gaza Strip since it violently expelled the Palestinian Authority in 2007.

Latest

May 2025: On May 13, Israel launches an airstrike on a hospital in Khan Younis, reportedly killing Muhammad Sinwar. Neither Israel nor Hamas immediately confirm Sinwar’s death. At least 70 people are reportedly killed in the airstrikes on Khan Younis and around northern and southern Gaza. On May 21, Netanyahu declares that Sinwar is likely dead. On May 28, Netanyahu announces that Sinwar had been killed in the strike earlier that month.

Hier, l’Union européenne a annoncé la levée des sanctions économiques imposées à la Syrie durant la présidence de Bashar al-Assad. « Nous avons décidé de lever nos sanctions économiques contre la Syrie », a déclaré la responsable de la politique extérieure de l’Union européenne, Kaja Kallas, après une réunion des 27 ministres des Affaires étrangères.

Le président américain Donald Trump a annoncé que son administration avait choisi l’architecture du système de défense antimissile «Dôme d’or» proposé, affirmant qu’il coûterait 175 milliards de dollars et serait opérationnel en «moins de trois ans» avec un «taux de réussite proche de 100%».

The issue of foreign fighters in Syria has resurfaced prominently following a recent meeting in Riyadh between U.S. President Donald Trump and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, brokered by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. During the meeting, Trump reportedly presented President Sharaa with five key conditions, notably demanding the repatriation of foreign fighters and the removal of individuals he described as “Palestinian terrorists”—a clear reference to groups like Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hamas, and other Palestinian armed organisations—from Syria. Additionally, Trump’s conditions included a demand for Syrian cooperation in preventing the resurgence of the Islamic State (ISIS) and the transfer of administration of ISIS detention centres in northeastern Syria to Damascus authorities.

When Syrian President Ahmad al Sharaa entered Damascus in December 2024 as a victorious rebel, he remarked that Syria was “the world’s leading source of captagon” but “is being purified by the grace of God almighty.” However, despite Sharaa’s words, the captagon industry continues to operate.