ICC Set Plan to Charge Netanyahu Just After Prosecutor Was Accused of Sexual Assault

The bold step to pursue the Israeli leader for war crimes built support at the international court for prosecutor Karim Khan as allegations of sexual abuse were surfacing. Khan denies any misconduct.

Karim Khan the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. Illustration: Alexandra Citrin-Safadi/WSJ; Photo: AFP

Two months after the Hamas attack of Oct. 7, pressure was mounting on Karim Khan , the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, as he considered charges against Israeli officials for their conduct of the war in Gaza.

Pro-Palestinian activists who had labeled him a “genocide enabler” and a bloc of ICC member countries in the developing world insisted that action was long overdue, pushing Khan into conflict with Israel’s staunch allies in Washington and other Western capitals.