New details have emerged about a series of intimidation campaigns directed at International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan as he pursues an investigation into alleged war crimes committed by Israeli officials in Gaza. Khan has faced intense pressure from top British and US public officials to withdraw the arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.
According to a report by Middle East Eye (MEE), Khan was privately threatened by then-British Foreign Secretary David Cameron in April 2024 that the UK would defund and withdraw from the ICC if it issued warrants against the Israeli leaders. Cameron reportedly told Khan that seeking arrest warrants would be “like dropping a hydrogen bomb”. In May 2024, US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham also threatened Khan with sanctions if he applied for the warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant.
Khan received a security briefing warning him that Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency “was active in The Hague and posed a potential threat” to him. The MEE report also stated that Khan met with British-Israeli defence lawyer Nicholas Kaufman, who reportedly told Khan that if the warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant were not dropped, “they will destroy you, and they will destroy the court.”
Khan has strenuously denied all allegations against him, including claims of sexual misconduct that emerged after the arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant were issued. Some ICC lawyers have privately expressed doubts about the allegations against Khan, which they believe may be part of a coordinated campaign to undermine the ICC’s investigation.
The ICC issued arrest warrants against Netanyahu, Gallant, and Hamas leader Mohammed Deif on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity over the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel and Israel’s subsequent war in Gaza. The Israeli defendants remain internationally wanted suspects, and ICC member states are under a legal obligation to arrest them.
Israel’s war on Gaza has resulted in significant humanitarian consequences, with at least 60,430 Palestinians killed and 148,722 wounded. In recent months, Israel has been accused of committing new war crimes after reports that Israeli forces intentionally shot and killed hundreds of unarmed Palestinian civilians waiting to collect humanitarian aid.