'Should I wait until everybody’s dead?': ICC's Khan defends warrants against Netanyahu, Gallant

ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan defended his decision to pursue warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other members of Israeli leadership in an interview with German paper Der Spiegel, published last week.

At a meeting with journalists in Nuremberg, where Nazis were tried for crimes they committed during the Holocaust nearly 80 years earlier, Khan commented, “The International Criminal Court is a child of Nuremberg.”

Continuing to draw on the history of Germany and European Jewry, Khan claimed, “We have failed to live up to the promise of Never Again that was made in Nuremberg” - adding, “People around the world are crying, they are in agony not just in Palestine and Israel.”

After referencing Israel and the Palestinian territories, Khan was asked if Netanyahu’s accusations of antisemitism had any effect on Khan. 

“I’m not that thin-skinned, Khan responded. “There is a lot of abuse and threats and games going on between political leaders, intelligence agencies, and interest groups. But I know who I am."

“The first time I went to a synagogue was with my late father and my mother when I was about six, in Leeds. Last year, I held the Elie Wiesel lecture in Ottawa. I don’t think the Raoul Wallenberg Center would have invited an antisemite to give such an important lecture. The Jewish religion is the great teaching of the Prophet Moses, and I have a lot of respect for the Jewish people and the Jewish faith."

“We are seeing an increased tendency of sidelining people by simply labeling them as an antisemite. Quite frankly, I think what is of more concern is what victims expect from the law and their demand that the law be applied equally everywhere around the globe.”

Khan explained that his predecessor had left him responsible for investigating the Palestinian territories, but no resources could be spared until Hamas’s October 7 attacks on southern Israel, which saw terrorists invade from Gaza and butcher over 1200 innocent Israelis and take over 250 people hostage.

“My predecessor opened an investigation three months before she left. I came in with no team and no resources but still tried to move things forward,” Khan defended. “Then came the events of October 7, an awful hemorrhage for the Jewish people. But the response of the Israeli government also set off the alarm bells – and not just for me, but for the secretary general of the United Nations, the high commissioner of human rights, the World Food Program.”

Without addressing the ongoing hostage crisis, Khan proceeded to criticize a lack of movement towards the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. 

“Except for Canada, every other ICC member state accepted the state of Palestine as a state party. Judges, after considering the matter, said we had jurisdiction,” he asserted. “ The question should be: Why shouldn’t we investigate? Is it right for a particular geographical region to be outside the law? Do Palestinians and Israelis not deserve the same legal protection as the people of Ukraine or Sudan or the Rohingya?”

When questioned on the double standards of the ICC for failing to investigate acts of torture conducted by Britain during the Iraq war, Khan responded that it was before his time. “Unfortunately, crimes are committed in every jurisdiction of the world. Our job is to make sure that there isn’t any free pass. Palestine is a state party to the ICC. What we’ve done is a function of jurisdiction,” he insisted, refusing to comment on cases predating 2021.

Despite Khan’s insistence that there were no free passes, Der Spiegel reporters noted that one of Khan’s first acts was to suspend investigations into US activities in Afghanistan. Khan denied this, arguing that the investigation was “deprioritized,” not suspended. 

“I simply made a decision based on my resources that I would give more attention to ongoing violations than historical ones – such as the activities of the Taliban or of Islamic State in Khorasan,” he argued. “It’s not the case that anybody was given a certificate of immunity.”

Mentioning the criticism that surrounded Khan’s decision to seek warrants against Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant at the same time as Hamas leadership, Der Spiegel asked if it was “wise” to give the impression of equating “democratically elected politicians with terrorists.”

Failing to address the criticism, Khan stated, “Every victim is equal. I have as much regard, attention, and love for a Jewish child as for a Palestinian child, or any other person anywhere in the world, regardless of the color of their skin, religion, age, or sexual orientation.”

Der Spiegel reporters later brought up that Russian President Vladimir Putin was able to visit ICC member Mongolia with no recourse.

“Once we came to the conclusion that the evidence justified arrest warrants – for members of Hamas and for Israeli officials – I was compelled to move forward. I would ask your readers to think about what the alternative might have been,” Khan said.

Prompted on what the alternative might have been, Khan responded, “Imagine I had only applied for an arrest warrant for Israeli nationals. People would say: What a fanatic. What an antisemite. He is refusing to apply the law to the vile acts of October 7, killing babies and taking Holocaust survivors as hostages. If I had only moved against the Hamas members, imagine them saying: What a disreputable court in the pocket of the US, Germany, and all these powerful countries.

“what about the 30,000 or 40,000 people dead in Gaza, mothers giving birth to stillborn children, famine, and starvation? So those who are accusing me of equating Israel with Hamas should ask themselves: What were the options? Or is there a complaint that the law is blind and that we have independent courts?”

As Israel has pursued the end of Hamas’s reign over the Gaza Strip and the return of the remaining 101 hostages over the past year, Hamas-run health ministries have claimed that over 40,000 Palestinians were killed. The figure provided does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. As repeatedly referenced by Israel’s supporters, Israel has been responsible for a remarkably low number of civilian casualties when compared to similar conflicts. 

When asked why the ICC, intended as a last resort, should intervene when Israel has a functioning judicial system, Khan answered, “Israel has very capable lawyers and judges. The question is: Is the law being applied in the occupied territories? If you read what experts are writing and look at what’s happening on the ground, we don’t see investigations. We don’t see accountability. Again, What is the complaint? Is it simply that there should be no justice because a country is an ally?”

Khan continued to defend the timing of the warrants, responding to reporters, “Should I wait until everybody’s dead? If your father, your mother, your grandfather was a hostage, would you really want me to wait? If this was your child or your sister blown to bits, would you want me to wait? We shouldn’t indulge ourselves in thinking that the suffering of people is something to comment on in the future. The law must be felt in real time. If you are a firefighter, you don’t wait until the house is burned down and the neighborhood is in flames.”

Accusations against Karim Khan

As Khan continues to investigate accusations, the ICC has launched its own into him following reports of sexual misconduct. The ICC’s governing body will launch an external investigation into its chief prosecutor Karim Khan over alleged sexual misconduct, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.

The alleged victim is a well-respected lawyer in her 30s who worked directly for Khan, according to The Guardian. Documents seen by the British paper show an accusation of unwanted touching by Khan and “abuse” from April 2023 until April 2024. 

In one incident listed in the document seen by The Guardian, Khan is alleged to have “pressed his tongue” into the woman’s ear, and a source reported groping incidents. The alleged victim also told colleagues that Khan had attempted to hold her hand while on a trip to London.

During another work trip, according to whistleblower documents seen by the Associated Press, Khan allegedly asked the woman to lay with him in his hotel bed and then 'sexually touched her.' He allegedly later knocked on her hotel room door for 10 minutes at 3 am. 

While Khan’s office has repeatedly been targeted by threats and misinformation, the alleged victim was reportedly reluctant to file an official complaint - instead, alarm bells were raised by fellow colleagues. 

Two employees reported the alleged harassment weeks before Khan announced he was looking into warrants against Netanyahu, the Associated Press reported.

“She never wanted any of this,” one person close to her said. “But the complaint filed against her wishes, followed by Khan’s denials and attempts to suppress the allegations, has forced her into a very difficult position.”