The lead prosecutor in the International Criminal Court’s investigation into alleged Israeli war crimes in Gaza has temporarily stepped aside over a sexual misconduct investigation, multiple outlets reported on Friday.
Karim Khan, prosecutor of the ICC, has taken indefinite leave pending the outcome of a probe from the U.N. Office of Internal Oversight Services about allegations that he repeatedly assaulted a Malaysian colleague in several countries and had urged her not to pursue charges as they might hinder his investigation of Israel.
“Think about the Palestinian arrest warrants,” he was quoted as saying, according to his accuser.
Khan has denied the allegations. JNS sought comment from the ICC.
The ICC’s two deputy prosecutors will take over the investigation while Khan is on leave, Reuters reported.
In May 2024, Khan announced that he would request arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for crimes against humanity over Israeli conduct in the war against Hamas.
The Hague-based tribunal, which is independent and not part of the United Nations, issued the warrants in November.
Some have raised questions about whether Khan requested the warrants against Israel in May 2024 to deliberately overshadow the sexual misconduct allegations against him, which came to light just weeks earlier. Khan’s decision that month to cancel a longstanding trip to Israel and Gaza also raised further questions about his impartiality.
Israel has denied that the court has jurisdiction to arrest or try its citizens because Israel is not a party to the Rome Statute that created the ICC in 2002.
The Associated Press reported on Thursday that the ICC probe has ground to a halt following U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order in February to impose sanctions on Khan and the court. Khan, who is British, has reportedly been frozen out of his U.K. bank accounts and lost access to his work email account.
