Israel is now reportedly urging the International Criminal Court to scrap its arrest warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and to disqualify ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan, arguing that serious sexual assault allegations against Khan cast doubt on the integrity and timing of the case.
In a filing released Wednesday, Israel laid out concerns that Khan’s decision to pursue warrants against Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in May 2024 may have been influenced by allegations leveled by an aide just weeks earlier. Citing reporting from The Wall Street Journal, Israel argued that Khan may have rushed the warrant applications to undermine his accuser or portray her claims as an attempt to sabotage the ICC’s investigation into Israel.
According to the Journal, Khan had been scheduled to travel to Israel and Gaza the week of May 27, 2024, as part of his inquiry into Israel’s wartime conduct. Instead, he abruptly canceled the trip on May 19, and the next day announced he would seek arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Israel’s filing argues the timing is suspicious. “The prosecutor’s decision to hurriedly submit arrest warrant applications in May 2024 might have been influenced by a desire to suppress, divert or protect himself” from the misconduct allegations, the document states.
Khan has denied all allegations of sexual misconduct and insists his warrants are based on solid evidence. ICC judges approved the arrest warrants in November 2024. Khan’s legal team did not respond to requests for comment. Khan has claimed the allegations are part of an effort to weaken the ICC, which has clashed repeatedly with major global powers — including the U.S. and Russia — that are not ICC members. Israel is not a member either.
The case has deepened what many consider the worst crisis in the ICC’s 23-year history. The Trump administration imposed sanctions on Khan and other ICC officials in response to the warrants targeting Israeli leaders, while several European countries — typically the ICC’s strongest supporters — have signaled uncertainty about enforcing the warrants should Netanyahu travel abroad.
Meanwhile, the United Nations is conducting its own investigation into the sexual assault allegations against Khan, with a report expected soon.
Khan referenced the Netanyahu and Gallant investigation in communications with his accuser, urging her to retract her claims by suggesting that ongoing cases — including “the Palestinian arrest warrants” — would suffer if she did not. His accuser alleges he coerced her into sex on multiple occasions at his residence in The Hague and during overseas work trips, according to testimony provided to the U.N.
Under the Rome Statute, the ICC’s founding charter, a prosecutor can be disqualified if doubts arise about their impartiality. Just last month, ICC judges removed Khan from the case against former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, citing similar impartiality concerns due to Khan’s prior involvement in related investigations before he became prosecutor.
Israel argues the same standard should apply here. “The doubts concerning the Prosecutor’s impartiality do not depend in any way on the truth or falsity of the sexual misconduct allegations,” the filing states. “What matters is whether the appearance of the Prosecutor’s impartiality in the conduct of investigations in this situation could be reasonably doubted.”
With the ICC already under intense scrutiny and facing credibility challenges from multiple fronts, Israel’s move escalates pressure on the court — and raises new questions about the legitimacy of a case already mired in political and ethical controversy.
