Karim Khan
Karim Khan is a British jurist who served as the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) from 2021 until his dismissal in July 2026. His tenure was defined by controversial efforts to issue arrest warrants for Israeli leadership and ended in a leadership crisis following an 18-month investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct.
Karim Khan assumed office as the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in June 2021. While he initially signaled a focus on evidence-based pragmatism, his tenure became a flashpoint for Israeli security and diplomacy. In May 2024, Khan sought arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, alongside leaders of the Hamas terror organization. This move was widely condemned in Israel as a moral equivalence between a sovereign democracy defending itself and a genocidal terror group. Israeli officials, including Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar and UN Ambassador Danny Danon, accused Khan of political bias and using the warrants to deflect from personal scandals.
In mid-2026, Khan's leadership collapsed due to internal allegations of sexual misconduct involving a subordinate female staff member. Following an 18-month investigation by the ICC's oversight body, which reportedly found merit in complaints of non-consensual sexual contact, the court's executive bureau formally suspended him in June 2026. The crisis culminated on Friday, July 24, 2026, when the 125 member states of the ICC voted by a large majority to dismiss Khan from his post. Following the vote, Khan rejected the decision, claiming it was politically motivated and vowing to appeal. In Israel, the dismissal prompted immediate calls for the cancellation of the arrest warrants issued during his term, with Minister Sa'ar describing Khan as a "corrupt prosecutor" whose removal exposed the "moral bankruptcy" of the proceedings against Israeli leaders.