Jan. 26, 2013. An Egyptian soccer fan holds a smoke flare above his head in celebration after learning that 21 fans of the Al Masry football club, involved in a football stadium massacre last year, were sentence to death, in Cairo, Egypt. (Photo: Ed Giles—Getty Images)

See more of the week’s best images at TIME LightBox

Nov. 28, 2012. Cairo, Egypt. A protester finds cover behind a destroyed vehicle at the scene of clashes with Egyptian police near Tahrir Square. (Photo: Moises Saman—Magnum for TIME)

Throughout 2012, TIME’s unparalleled photojournalists were there. At a time when so much hangs in the balance, bearing witness can be the most essential act — and that’s what we do. Here’s the best of our commissioned photojournalism from 2012. See more on LightBox.

Dec. 2, 2012. Palestinian men repair a bombed smuggling tunnel connecting the Gaza Strip and Egypt, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. (Photo: Ali Ali—EPA)

From violent protests in Egypt and smugglers tunnels in Gaza to The Duchess of Cambridge’s pregnancy and the “Black Marble” — Earth photographed at night from space, TIME presents the best images of the week. See more on LightBox.

Protestors throw rocks at Egyptian security forces protecting the area near the U.S. Embassy in Cairo. 

Magnum photographer Moises Saman photographed clashes on the streets of Cairo for this week’s issue of TIME.

See more photos here.

April 1, 2011. Between Ajdabiya and Brega, Libya. 

Revolutions, a book featuring the work of war photographer Rémi Ochlik, who was killed this spring in Syria, has just been published by Emphas.is. LightBox presents images from the book taken during conflicts in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Syria. 

See more photos here.

July 17, 2012. Egyptian troops demonstrate their skills at a graduation ceremony attended by President Mohammed Morsi, unseen, in Cairo.

From America’s worst drought in 50 years and fierce fighting in Syria to the start of Ramadan, TIME’s photo department presents the best images of the week.

See more photos here

July 17, 2012. Egyptian troops demonstrate their skills at a graduation ceremony attended by President Mohammed Morsi, unseen, in Cairo.

From America’s worst drought in 50 years and fierce fighting in Syria to the start of Ramadan, TIME’s photo department presents the best images of the week.

See more photos here

Women of all ages gathered by the thousands in Tripoli’s Martyrs’ Square to celebrate the ousting of Muammar Gaddafi. 

As Libya and Egypt hold nationwide elections, LightBox presents the work of Sarah Elliott, whose photographs show those who had the most at stake after the revolutions: women. 

See more photos here.

A mural near Tahrir Square serves as a backdrop to the continuing revolution. Painted over and re-painted, it endures as a reminder of history and hope for the future.

See more photos here.

Yuri Kozyrev—NOOR for TIME

To illustrate this week’s cover story on the Egyptian elections, TIME turned to contract photographer Yuri Kozyrev, who’s been documenting the Arab Spring since it’s beginnings in early 2011. Covering Egypt’s electoral process and runoff, Kozyrev captured the celebrations and protests after Mohamed Morsy was declared President. One of Kozyrev’s more powerful photos  of a Morsy supporter was chosen for the cover of this week’s issue. 

“We originally mocked up more than a dozen covers,” explained Victor Williams, TIME’s international art director, “but we were looking for a single, arresting image. We finally settled on this image [of a masked protestor] staring directly at the viewer. That the new President’s face appears on his mask is so powerful, with his disguised but commanding allegiance. We loved that he was staring directly at the viewer.” 

Visit LightBox for more of Kozyrev’s photographs from Cairo. To read TIME’s cover story, How The Military Won The Egyptian Election, click here.