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ICC Chief Prosecutor Visits Sudan

International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan poses during an interview with Reuters at the ICC in The Hague, Netherlands, March 3, 2022. REUTERS/Christian Levaux
International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan poses during an interview with Reuters at the ICC in The Hague, Netherlands, March 3, 2022. REUTERS/Christian Levaux
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ICC Chief Prosecutor Visits Sudan

International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan poses during an interview with Reuters at the ICC in The Hague, Netherlands, March 3, 2022. REUTERS/Christian Levaux
International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan poses during an interview with Reuters at the ICC in The Hague, Netherlands, March 3, 2022. REUTERS/Christian Levaux

The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor Karim Khan has arrived in Sudan, state media reported in the country still wracked by unrest since the 2019 ouster of its leader accused of genocide.

"The ICC prosecutor and a court delegation will hold a number of meetings with senior officials and he will be visiting the Darfur region," the state news agency SUNA said late Saturday.

Khan's visit will continue until August 25, SUNA said, a year after he visited the country for talks on outstanding arrest warrants over crimes committed during the 2003 Darfur war under ousted president Omar al-Bashir.

His visit this year is the third by an ICC prosecutor to Sudan since Bashir's ouster in April 2019, AFP reported.

Khan's predecessor, Fatou Bensouda, held talks in Sudan in May 2021, bringing the strife-hit country's former leaders one step closer to being tried at The Hague for war crimes.

Sudan has been reeling from deepening unrest, spiraling economic crisis, and a spike in ethnic clashes, including in Darfur, since a military coup last year led by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

The October military coup upended a fragile transition put in place following the ouster of Bashir, who was deposed following months of protests.

Bashir remains wanted by the ICC over his role in the 2003 Darfur conflict.

The United Nations says 300,000 people were killed and 2.5 million displaced during the conflict.

Since his ouster, Bashir has been held in Khartoum's Kober prison along with several of his former aides who are also wanted by the ICC. He faces charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

In April, senior Janjaweed militia leader Ali Muhammad Ali Abd al-Rahman, also known by the nom de guerre Ali Kushayb, faced the ICC in its first trial for war crimes in Darfur.

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Arab World

Israel Seeks to Fragment the West Bank as It Has in Gaza

Two Israeli soldiers stand next to a military vehicle during an operation in Jenin, West Bank, March 4, 2025 (Reuters). 
Two Israeli soldiers stand next to a military vehicle during an operation in Jenin, West Bank, March 4, 2025 (Reuters). 
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Israel Seeks to Fragment the West Bank as It Has in Gaza

Two Israeli soldiers stand next to a military vehicle during an operation in Jenin, West Bank, March 4, 2025 (Reuters). 
Two Israeli soldiers stand next to a military vehicle during an operation in Jenin, West Bank, March 4, 2025 (Reuters). 

Palestinian and Israeli sources have confirmed that Israel is making a concerted push to revive the defunct “Village Leagues” project—an initiative from the 1970s that sought to divide Palestinian areas in the West Bank into isolated cantons under Israeli control. The plan, which was fiercely opposed by Palestinians at the time, is now being reintroduced as part of Israel’s post-war vision for Gaza, sources say.

According to these sources, the initiative is being promoted by senior Israeli officials, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also holds a key role in the Defense Ministry and oversees the Civil Administration in the West Bank. Israel is also reportedly lobbying for support from the United States, several European nations, and regional Arab powers.

A former Israeli general involved in administering the occupied territories said the project, much like in 1978 during Prime Minister Menachem Begin’s tenure, enjoys no support among Palestinians today.

“Back then, Palestinians rejected the Village Leagues outright. Some of their leaders were even targeted and assassinated,” the general said. “Ironically, the Israeli right also opposed the initiative—especially when it began morphing into a political movement calling for peace between Israelis and Palestinians. They feared it might pave the way for a Palestinian state and instead pushed for expanding settlements.”

“Settlements were built in large numbers,” he continued. “At the same time, reports of widespread corruption among league leaders surfaced, further undermining their credibility. Eventually, the Israeli government dismantled the project.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has linked his ambitions in Gaza to US President Donald Trump’s controversial proposal for “voluntary migration.” In response to American demands for a clear “day after” plan for Gaza, Netanyahu has floated a modern-day version of the Village Leagues concept—though still tied to his insistence on a decisive military victory in Gaza and the West Bank, and a long-term Israeli military presence in the Strip.

Smotrich’s Religious Zionism party has signaled support for this strategy, including plans to establish settlements inside Gaza.

On the ground, Netanyahu and newly appointed Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi have already begun implementing a phased plan in Gaza. It includes the seizure of land—particularly in the northern part of the Strip—the forced displacement of as many civilians as possible, and the installation of local strongmen or “warlords” to manage small, isolated zones of governance.

This “Gaza model” is a practical extension of the “cantons plan” first proposed by far-right academic Mordechai Kedar. His blueprint called for the creation of Palestinian mini-emirates or enclaves with limited self-governance across the West Bank, under the overarching security control of Israel to ensure the protection and growth of Israeli settlements.

Asaf David, a leading expert on Israel and Middle East affairs, told Haaretz on Friday that this approach is the real-world application of Trump’s so-called “Deal of the Century.” While that plan paid lip service to a “Palestinian state,” David argues that the current trajectory suggests that a Trump administration would likely not only accept such a scheme—but actively promote it.

Israeli analysts warn that even if the US Congress were to restrain a future Trump administration after the midterm elections, or if a Democratic administration were to take office in four years, and even if Netanyahu’s government were to fall before the scheduled 2026 elections, the changes being made on the ground could be nearly irreversible.