In a brazen abuse of power and an apparent attempt to deflect attention from his own misconduct, International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan reportedly accelerated arrest warrants for Israeli leaders—while simultaneously facing explosive sexual assault allegations that have since forced him to take leave.
Multiple current and former ICC officials confirmed to The Wall Street Journal that Khan was actively preparing to indict Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir—two senior members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet—just before his personal scandals burst into public view. The now-disgraced prosecutor had already issued controversial arrest warrants for Netanyahu and then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, allegedly to overshadow internal accusations that he sexually coerced a female ICC aide.
Report in @WSJ :
— Iris (@streetwize) May 28, 2025
Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor at the @ICC , planned to request international arrest warrants for Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir before he went on administrative leave from his post due to the… pic.twitter.com/0QpZIGnK8M
Targeting Israel, Ignoring Hamas
Khan’s legal crusade against Israel has raised serious questions within the international legal community. Sources within the court believe Khan cynically rushed the Gaza-related warrants to paint himself as "even-handed"—especially after being criticized for ignoring live Hamas leadership while issuing posthumous indictments against three already-dead terrorists.
The new warrants reportedly targeted Smotrich and Ben-Gvir over their unapologetic support for Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria—territory legally controlled by Israel under the Oslo Accords. Despite legal complexity, the ICC attempted to frame these activities as war crimes, citing outdated interpretations of the Geneva Conventions. Israel, however, insists the territory is not "occupied" but "disputed," given that it was captured from Jordan in a defensive war in 1967—Jordan having since renounced all claims.
Prime Minister Netanyahu: "The outrageous decision by the ICC prosecutor, Karim Khan, to seek arrest warrants against the democratically elected leaders of Israel is a moral outrage of historic proportions.
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) May 20, 2024
It will cast an everlasting mark of shame on the international court." pic.twitter.com/VF5rrs5TAN
Legal Gymnastics to Justify Political Vendettas
Khan’s office framed its argument on Article 8 of the Rome Statute, which criminalizes the transfer of a population into occupied territory. However, Israel argues that this provision is not applicable in the case of Judea and Samaria—regions that were never legally Palestinian or part of a sovereign Arab state. Israel also strictly limits Jewish activity in Areas A and B, where the Palestinian Authority governs, prosecuting any citizen who violates these territorial lines.
Critics argue that the ICC's actions reflect a glaring double standard: while Israeli citizens face scrutiny and threats of prosecution for defending their right to settle on their ancestral land, Palestinian militants launching regular attacks on Israeli civilians remain untouched. Not a single Palestinian from Judea or Samaria has been sanctioned by any Western nation despite the unrelenting violence targeting Jews.
Political Fallout and Strategic Miscalculation
Smotrich and Ben-Gvir are not fringe radicals—they are key powerbrokers in Netanyahu’s ruling coalition. Their targeting by the ICC is seen by many as an indirect effort to destabilize Israel’s government during wartime. The political gamble has already backfired.
While Israel condemned the initial warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant, the United States went further. Under the Trump administration, Khan and the ICC were hit with direct sanctions. Now, a second wave of U.S. sanctions may be looming, especially if more warrants are issued. Analysts warn such a move could financially paralyze the ICC by cutting it off from global banking systems tied to the U.S. dollar.
"The court is tiptoeing on a legal and political minefield," said Mark Ellis, executive director of the International Bar Association. “The ICC faces an existential threat if it continues down this path.”
The Palestinian Mirage
The ICC claims jurisdiction over the Palestinian territories based on the 2015 acceptance of its authority by the Palestinian Authority—an entity that is neither a state nor legally sovereign. Nevertheless, the court ruled in 2021 that “Palestine” qualified as a member under its rules, a decision widely criticized for bending legal norms to advance political goals.
Between 1948 and 1967, Gaza was ruled by Egypt, and Judea & Samaria was controlled by Jordan. During those 19 years, there were no calls for a Palestinian state and no demands for independence. In fact, the PLO charter, written in 1964, explicitly stated they had no territorial… pic.twitter.com/GB1gHm3aLH
— Jews Fight Back 🇺🇸🇮🇱 (@JewsFightBack) January 7, 2025
Israel counters that Judea and Samaria were seized legally from Jordan during a war of self-defense and have never belonged to a Palestinian state—which has never existed. Israel also notes that Jordan stripped Arabs living in those regions of citizenship in 1988, rendering them stateless and undermining claims to sovereign national status.
#DidYouKnow: When Jordan controlled east #Jerusalem (1948-67), they banned access to Jews. Israel's first act in '67 was to open city to all pic.twitter.com/vjKudwTIic
— Arsen Ostrovsky 🎗️ (@Ostrov_A) May 24, 2017
Khan’s Personal Crisis and Professional Fallout
While Khan was weaponizing international law to go after Israeli leaders, serious allegations surfaced that he had sexually assaulted a subordinate, allegedly coercing her under the pretense of ongoing investigations against Netanyahu and Hamas. According to The Wall Street Journal, Khan invoked these high-profile cases to pressure his aide into silence—a move that now threatens to unravel the very legitimacy of his tenure.
With Khan on forced leave, the fate of the cases against Smotrich and Ben-Gvir lies with his two deputies. But few expect major developments soon. Legal experts point to the enormous political blowback and the internal disarray the court now faces. The ICC has remained silent on the status of the investigations and refused comment.
KHAN OUT, KHAN IN: ICC swaps one morally corrupt prosecutor with another. Karim Khan stepped down over allegations he raped his employee repeatedly—and indicted Israeli leaders to divert attention. Now Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Khan replaces him. But I saw how unethical she is: 🧵 pic.twitter.com/jz4Ny2lSZm
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) May 19, 2025
Political Stunt or Judicial Overreach?
The suspicion remains that Khan deliberately pursued indictments against Netanyahu and Gallant to score political points and bury headlines about his own misconduct. His decision to publicize the arrest applications—despite internal ICC advice to keep them sealed—only adds fuel to the theory that his motives were more political than judicial.
Meanwhile, Khan’s legacy lies in ruins. His actions have triggered a diplomatic crisis, emboldened Israel’s critics, and deeply undermined the credibility of the ICC. Should the court pursue further cases against Israeli leaders, it risks total estrangement from key global powers and a collapse of what little trust remains in its impartiality.
