The 125 member states of the ICC are represented on the ASP, but the ASP bureau is an executive committee made up of 21 members.
MEE has reported that the states on the bureau which voted to disregard the panel of judges were Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Cyprus, Ecuador, Finland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, New Zealand, Poland, Slovenia, South Korea, and Switzerland.
Khan’s future as prosecutor may ultimately be decided by a vote of ICC member states.
Known by the name „Ulm Five“, the activists allegedly entered the factory on the 8 September 2025 by smashing a glass facade and subsequently destroyed office equipment, including computers, screens and telephones.
Shortly after, the five were arrested and have since been held in pretrial detention in different prisons across southern Germany.
n Iranian business newspaper reported in April that reconstruction would take at least 12 years.
“The nuclear issue is honestly Betamax now,” Alan Eyre, a former member of the US team that negotiated the Iran nuclear deal, told MEE, referring to the now obsolete 1975 video cassette player.
“Everyone is talking about what the Iranians are willing to give up. But that is largely a function of what they are willing to get,” he added. „What the Iranians want is money.“
Eyre said there are four ways Iran can be compensated for a deal that reopens the Strait of Hormuz and ends with an agreement on its nuclear programme: reparations, tolling, unblocking frozen assets, and sanctions relief. Of the four, he believes a toll in the Strait of Hormuz is the likeliest path for a deal.
The remotely piloted aircraft, often used by the RAF, supports missions including „surveillance, search and rescue, and armed operations alongside Nato and US forces“, according to the RAF.
The drone flew over Lebanon before and after the wave of Israeli strikes on Wednesday afternoon, which came after a two-week ceasefire between Iran and the US was agreed on Tuesday night.
The first thing Abdelwahab noticed was the silence after the blast.
Then came the smoke, the screams – and the realisation that the bodies he was pulling from the rubble belonged to people he knew.
It was shortly after 2pm on Wednesday when across Lebanon, Israeli warplanes had launched a heavy wave of air strikes on densely populated areas, including in Beirut, its southern suburbs, the eastern Beqaa governorate and southern villages.
The simultaneous strikes killed more than 300 people and wounded over 1,150, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
Israeli activist Alon-Lee Green was arrested after police moved in on an anti-war protest in Tel Aviv, detaining multiple demonstrators as officers forcibly dispersed the gathering.
Green, a leading figure in the Jewish-Arab movement Standing Together, had joined protesters opposing Israel’s ongoing war and assault on neighbouring countries and its escalation across the region, as well as the genocide and destruction in Gaza.
US likely responsible for Iran school attack, military investigation says
Nato raises ballistic missile defence posture after Turkey attack
Israeli jets bomb areas in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley
Previous attacks have included the assassination of a top Iranian nuclear scientist travelling at high speeds in a car on an isolated road with a remote-controlled automatic machine gun; malware attacks on computers running key parts of Iran’s nuclear programme; and the theft of an archive of nuclear documents.
Another Iranian source told MEE that amid the latest attacks, Iran had „made a clear statement“ to Saudi Arabia that it was not behind the strikes on Saudi Aramco‘s Ras Tanura, which houses the kingdom‘s largest domestic refinery and is a key crude export terminal.
„This is an Israeli effort to sabotage regional peace and alliances between neighbours,“ the source added.
A Foreign Ministry official told Middle East Eye that Israel was behind strikes against Saudi Arabia and at least one attack on Oman, asserting: „I can categorically say that some of the attacks were not carried out by us [Iran].“
The claims follow at least five drone and missile strikes on Saudi facilities, including the Ras Tanura oil refinery and the US embassy in Riyadh, alongside two targets at Oman‘s Duqm Port.
It reads: “Bill to require parliamentary approval for the deployment of UK armed forces and military equipment for armed conflict; to require parliamentary approval for the granting of permission by ministers for use of UK military bases and equipment by other nations for armed conflict; to require the withdrawal of that permission in circumstances where parliamentary approval is not granted; to provide for certain exemptions from these requirements; to make provision for retrospective parliamentary approval in certain circumstances; and for connected purposes.”
(today)
The alliance is between the resurgent Green Party, the new left-wing Your Party, the parliamentary Independent Alliance of independent MPs and Labour backbenchers.
Jeremy Corbyn, former Labour leader and parliamentary leader of the new Your Party, on Thursday tabled a parliamentary bill with cross-party backing that would require parliament‘s approval for the foreign use of British military bases.
It comes in response to Prime Minister Keir Starmer‘s decision on Sunday night to allow the US to use UK military bases for the purpose of targeting Iranian missile sites.
Mona Rishmawi, a member of the UN Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan (FFMS) and an expert on the Darfur conflict, said the mission‘s conclusion represents a “serious and urgent” finding that should compel governments to take immediate steps to halt weapons flows to the RSF.
“This report, and the conclusion that the threshold of genocide has been reached, has to be taken extremely seriously,” she told MEE in an interview on Sunday. “If the same modus operandi continues, we will see more situations like el-Fasher. Stopping the flow of weapons is essential.”
Though it denies the charges, there is widespread evidence, as reported by MEE, linking the United Arab Emirates with the supply of arms and other goods to the RSF.
(October 20, 2025)
Summary
The ongoing genocide in Gaza is a collective crime, sustained by the complicity of influential Third States that have enabled longstanding systemic violations of international law by Israel. Framed by colonial narratives that dehumanize the Palestinians, this live-streamed atrocity has been facilitated through Third States’ direct support, material aid, diplomatic protection and, in some cases, active participation. It has exposed an unprecedented chasm between peoples and their governments, betraying the trust on which global peace and security rest. The world now stands on a knife-edge between the collapse of the international rule of law and hope for renewal. Renewal is only possible if complicity is confronted, responsibilities are met and justice is upheld.
(…)
25. Certain non-Western States have turned to international courts to seek accountability and pressurize Israel to cease its actions. While only 13 States have supported South Africa before the ICJ, most Western States have persistently denied genocide. None have joined Nicaragua against Germany at the ICJ, or invoked domestic laws against complicit corporations or individuals. Only seven referred the situation to the ICC, many sought to undermine its arrest warrants, and at least 37 States were non-committal or critical, signalling intent to evade arrest obligations.
(…)
. Military Ties: providing the means of destruction
32. While UN resolutions have called for arms embargoes on Israel since 1976, many States have continued supplying it with military support and arms transfers. Israel is disproportionately dependent on weapons imports, with the proportion of their total trade more than double the OECD average, and over four times greater than that of the United States. This international supply has continued, even as the evidence of genocide has mounted, with the United States, Germany and Italy among the largest suppliers. Only a few Western States, notably Spain and Slovenia, have cancelled contracts and imposed embargoes.
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency was created in the shadow of the so-called Global War on Terror that followed the attacks of 11 September 2001.
It became a key pillar of the architecture of repressive surveillance and militarised tactics that emerged during the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.
ICE itself was specifically designed to pursue „national security threats“ within the United States, granting agents sweeping discretion over who could be deemed to „pose a threat to public safety or national security“.
Since then, it has come to represent a rogue operation, its reputation clouded by harrowing stories of abuse, impunity and a near total lack of oversight.
Its close association with Palantir, a surveillance firm accused of helping generate kill lists for Israel, has also further embedded it within the US military-industrial complex.
Scalawag Magazine described Palantir‘s partnership with ICE as „one of the many links comprising the military-industrial surveillance connections between ICE and Israel Defense Forces“.
These links, it wrote, illustrate the ideological and practical ties between the two bodies, as they work to advance the militarisation of policing through the weaponisation of surveillance technology.
ICE has also participated in several exchanges with the Israeli military, and during the student protests for Gaza, it lifted names from the blacklisting website Canary Mission to identify and arrest protesters.
(October 20, 2025)
Summary
The ongoing genocide in Gaza is a collective crime, sustained by the complicity of influential Third States that have enabled longstanding systemic violations of international law by Israel. Framed by colonial narratives that dehumanize the Palestinians, this live-streamed atrocity has been facilitated through Third States’ direct support, material aid, diplomatic protection and, in some cases, active participation. It has exposed an unprecedented chasm between peoples and their governments, betraying the trust on which global peace and security rest. The world now stands on a knife-edge between the collapse of the international rule of law and hope for renewal. Renewal is only possible if complicity is confronted, responsibilities are met and justice is upheld.
(…)
25. Certain non-Western States have turned to international courts to seek accountability and pressurize Israel to cease its actions. While only 13 States have supported South Africa before the ICJ, most Western States have persistently denied genocide. None have joined Nicaragua against Germany at the ICJ, or invoked domestic laws against complicit corporations or individuals. Only seven referred the situation to the ICC, many sought to undermine its arrest warrants, and at least 37 States were non-committal or critical, signalling intent to evade arrest obligations.
(…)
. Military Ties: providing the means of destruction
32. While UN resolutions have called for arms embargoes on Israel since 1976, many States have continued supplying it with military support and arms transfers. Israel is disproportionately dependent on weapons imports, with the proportion of their total trade more than double the OECD average, and over four times greater than that of the United States. This international supply has continued, even as the evidence of genocide has mounted, with the United States, Germany and Italy among the largest suppliers. Only a few Western States, notably Spain and Slovenia, have cancelled contracts and imposed embargoes.
The UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, has accused major European powers, including the UK, Italy and Germany, of complicity in the genocide in Gaza and warned that their government officials should face legal consequences.
In an interview with the Expert Witness podcast on 3 November, Albanese discussed the findings of her latest report, titled Gaza Genocide: A Collective Crime, where she cited evidence of the alleged responsibility of 63 states for enabling Israeli breaches of international law.
Israeli and Emirati online networks have worked in tandem to shape narratives around Sudan and Gaza, targeting Sudan’s army even as RSF massacres mounted in El Fasher.
On the defence-industrial side, firms are expanding inside the UAE, tightening a two-way flow of money, tech, and intelligence. Israeli defence firm Controp is opening a UAE subsidiary making it the latest emblem of this deepening security embrace.
All the while, Emirati rulers boast of their „development model“ as a „shining example for the region“: authoritarian, anti-political, drenched in consumerism and spectacle.
It is a façade of progress built on repression. A mirage of modernity concealing a machinery of tyranny.
“They’re frequent and the logistics are transferred immediately to another aircraft that is on standby and is destined for the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan through the neighbouring countries,” said Abdullahi, a senior Puntland Maritime Police Force (PMPF) commander at Bosaso Airport, who spoke to Middle East Eye using a different name for security reasons.
According to flight tracking data, satellite imagery, multiple local sources, and US and regional diplomats, the origin of these planes and their cargo is clear: the United Arab Emirates.
(…)
As MEE reported recently, Bosaso is connected to a ring of bases built and expanded by the UAE across the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea. The bases, on the islands of Mayun, Abd al-Kuri, Samhah; at the Somaliland port of Berbera and the Yemeni port of Mocha, are all on territory nominally controlled not by the UAE but its allies or clients.
Diplomats told Middle East Eye that representatives of Burhan’s government and its enemy, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), were both in Washington for indirect talks.
According to an Egyptian presidential source, US President Donald Trump has personally tasked Sisi to work on ending Sudan’s civil war.
“They made it clear during the negotiations that time and great efforts will be needed after the withdrawal of the occupying Israeli forces, to collect information about the bodies,” said the source.
“This was clear and accepted during the negotiations. The signed agreement included a very clear clause about this. Clause 5 e in the agreement stated: ‘Establishment of an information-sharing mechanism between the two sides through the mediators and the ICRC, to exchange information and intelligence on any remaining deceased hostages that were not retrieved within the 72 hours or remains of Gazans held by Israel. The mechanism shall ensure that the remains of all the hostages are fully and safely exhumed and released. Hamas shall exert maximum effort to ensure the fulfilment of these commitments as soon as possible’”.
Over 500,000 protesters marched in London to mark two years of genocide in Gaza.
They told MEE why they are demonstrating, despite the latest ceasefire agreement.
Meanwhile, Italy and Greece call on Israel….
Operation Gideon’s Chariots II, as the new offensive is known, is a calculated campaign of territorial reconfiguration coordinated with the United States.
Ahead of the United Nations General Assembly summit that begins on Monday, Israel is preparing to bring the north fully under its control.
According to the Israeli officers, behind the scenes there is a belief that, if the Gaza City operation goes according to plan, Netanyahu plans to declare victory at the UN on 26 September.
(today)
Prominent doctor Hussam Abu Safiya and his nephew are being kept in appalling conditions in Israeli detention, his lawyer said after a rare visit.
Gheed Kassem said Abu Safiya and his nephew Hussam Zaher were „exposed to sunlight for only thirty minutes a month, while scabies and boils ravage their bodies, and they remain in the same clothes.“
„As for bathing, it lasts only two minutes, and they have each lost a third of their body weight. They are in dire need of dermatologists and medicines to treat the widespread skin diseases and infections,“ said Kassem.
A resident of al-Saftawi neighbourhood, also in the north of the city, Matar and his wife were startled awake by what he described as a “frightening sound of movement“.
“We thought it was the sound of asbestos sheets being moved from place to place by a crane or a tuk-tuk. We couldn’t sleep out of fear.”
At around 4:45am, the couple realised the sound had come from a remotely controlled Israeli military robot.
The robots, which carry explosives, have been widely used by Israeli forces during the ongoing invasion of Gaza, often targeting civilian homes.
Days before, a source for one of Salama’s major investigations for MEE told him that they had been briefly detained at an aid distribution centre by US security contractors guarding the site.
There, the source said, they had been interrogated about the identity of the reporter behind the story. Salama worked on the story anonymously for security reasons.
“The source would not have been in contact with me unless they thought something was deeply wrong,” Salama told colleagues at the time.
When asked if he felt safe knowing he was being pursued for his work, Salama replied: “We journalists are never safe in Gaza.”
Middle East Eye asked Safe Reach Solutions and UG Solutions, the two US security firms working at the aid distribution sites, whether they were involved in the source’s interrogation.
MEE also asked if their employees were passing intelligence to Israel on the identity of Palestinian journalists such as Salama.
They had not replied by the time of publication.