ICC chief prosecutor pushed for charges on Netanyahu after facing sex assault allegations – WSJ

Karim Khan reportedly sought arrest warrants for Israeli leaders a little over two weeks after the accusations were made

International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan set in motion a plan to issue arrest warrants for Israeli leadership shortly after he faced sexual misconduct allegations, The Wall Street Journal has reported, citing documents from a UN probe into the scandal.

Khan announced he would file applications for arrest warrants for Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and then Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on May 20 last year, a mere two and a half weeks after he first learned about the sexual misconduct allegations against him, the Journal said. “The timing of the announcement has spurred questions about whether Khan was aiming to protect himself from the sexual-assault allegations,” the newspaper suggested.

According to the materials the WSJ reviewed, Khan’s alleged sexual misconduct spree began in late 2023, when “the 55-year-old prosecutor was increasingly lashing out at his team” after coming under a barrage of criticism. Pro-Palestine activists had labeled him a “genocide enabler” and accused the ICC of a lack of action on the Gaza conflict.

One of his assistants, a “woman in her 30s who often traveled with him for her job” requested a meeting “to urge him to ease up,” according to the report. Khan allegedly invited her to his suite in the Millennium Hilton hotel next to the UN, where he sexually assaulted her.

READ MORE: ICC chief prosecutor accused of punishing staff who leaked sexual misconduct claims – Reuters

“She said she attempted to leave the room several times, but he took her hand and eventually pulled her to the bed. Then he pulled off her pants and forced sexual intercourse, according to the testimony,” the report reads.