Karim Khan is the International Criminal Court prosecutor who in March 2024 filed applications for warrants of arrest for Israel’s then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, charging Israel with “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity.” He has taken a different tack recently, seeming to back away from his maximalist charges against the Jewish state, and refusing to say whether or not he believed Israel to be guilty of “genocide.” More on Karim Khan’s less aggressive tone can be found here: “ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan Sidesteps ‘Genocide’ Accusations Against Israel,” by Corey Walker, Algemeiner, May 8, 2026:
Karim Khan, the embattled chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), has cast fresh doubt on accusations that Israel committed “genocide” in Gaza, arguing in a new interview that no legal conclusion has yet been reached in the ongoing legal battle.
In a lengthy interview with anti-Israel journalist Medhi Hasan this week, Khan refused to engage in the popularized rhetoric labeling Israel’s military campaign against Hamas terrorists in Gaza as genocidal, even as pressure mounts on the ICC by activists to pursue more sweeping charges against Israeli officials.
When asked directly whether Israel’s conduct amounted to genocide, Khan emphasized the need for sufficient evidence to level charges against Israeli officials and that prosecutors must follow evidence and legal standards rather than political narratives.
“So, you’re not ruling out that there could be a warrant in the future?” Hasan asked.
“Everything is a function of evidence,” Khan responded, arguing that accusing Israel of genocide for political purposes would be “reckless.”
“You’re saying in the past three years there hasn’t been evidence of genocide in Gaza?” Hasan asked, visibly flummoxed.
Khan lamented the “suffering” in Gaza but reaffirmed that the ICC could not proceed in making final judgements about the nature of Israel’s military operations in Gaza without sufficient evidence. He asserted that officials within the ICC are vigorously analyzing the case and that he cannot reveal more about the nature of the investigation.
“So, genocide is not off limits?” Hasan pressed.
“No crime is off limits if the evidence is there,” Khan responded….
In the interview, Khan also forcefully denied allegations of sexual misconduct that have engulfed his office in recent months, accusing critics of politicizing the claims amid the ICC’s high-profile investigations into Israel, Russia, and other global conflicts. He dismissed suggestions that his pursuit of Israeli leaders was intended to distract from the allegations against him, saying that he did not have evidence to substantiate the claim.
In early 2025, Karim Khan, chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court, was charged with sexual misconduct for repeated acts of non-consensual sexual intercourse with a member of his staff. He was then put on administrative leave while the charge could be investigated. A panel of three judges cleared him of the charge of sexual misconduct on March 21, 2026, concluding that there was “no evidence beyond a reasonable doubt” of “misconduct or breach of duty.”
Many have criticized this decision, including people who served on Karim Khan’s staff during the period when the “sexual misconduct” was said to have occurred.
What Khan wants us all to believe is that he is the victim of a plot to bring about his dismissal, by fabricating a case against him of sexual misconduct. In that way, Israel would hope that a new prosecutor would drop the charges that Karim Khan brought against it of “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity.”
Karim Khan wants to win over his critics by adopting a less confrontational stance toward Israel, as shown by his refusal to satisfy Mehdi Hasan, who no doubt found Khan’s determination not to accuse Israel of “genocide” puzzling. After all, the Bureau of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) — the court’s governing body of diplomats — is still investigating Khan, and is is moving forward with disciplinary measures.
I don’t think this will end well for Karim Khan. By the end of this year, I expect that the ASP will uphold the “sexual misconduct” charge, and that he will be replaced. It will be back to Blighty for Karim. As for his previous charges against Israel of “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity,” as there is no evidence of either, I don’t see how they will survive the withering response of Israel’s international lawyers, who happen to be among the best in the business.
More than one threat says
As an Ahmadi Muslim, should not Karim Khan have recused himself from the outset of any prosecution of Jewish Israel, lest the ICC prosecution case be perceived as a sectarian act?
Jerry says
You are thinking like a Western civilized person. Muslims are taught from the time they can understands words to hate Jewish people. The Jews are be hunted and killed according to Muslim teachings. I don’t know the chapter and verse from the Quaran, but it says a Jew is hiding behind a rock and the Muslim is to go kill them.
We in the West have been raised to love your neighbors, not hat them because they are different. Evil is real and it does exist.
Cynthia says
Islamists and leftists accuse their opponents with the very crimes they have committed. They have raped and targeted civilians and want the genocide of all Israelis.
So accuse and deflect is their strategy. “ Repeat a lie often enough and it is believed to be true” is their playbook. Social media has been the perfect echo chamber of this tactic.
abu taleb says
How can we expect an objective decision from a muslim? Any muslim should not be involved in justice system because muslims hold Islamic law above others.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
International Criminal Court is well named: it’s an international court of criminals
Billy says
Islam is a Criminal-Terrorist-Gang Enterprise against all Non-Muslims which Islamizes a society with Islamic Law, discriminations, segregation, violence, and terrorism as taught by Allah in Islam’s Qur’an(Qur’an 3:54; 7:99; 9:5, 29, 111; 49:15, etc.). Allah in Qur’an 8:39 says, “And engage in war with them[Non-Muslims] until there will not be sedition and the religion will be completely to Allah…”
Allah rewards Muslims, Terrorists of Allah, with a Garden Paradise when they kill and are killed in Jihad for Allah, war against Non-Muslims with MUSLIM MONEY and with MUSLIM LIVES to make Islam supreme. Allah in Qur’an 49:15 teaches, “Surely the believers[Muslims] are only those who believed in Allah and his messenger. They do not doubt, and they performed JIHAD with their MONEY and their LIVES for the sake of Allah. Those are the truthful.” See also Qur’an 2:191; 4:89, 91; 9:5, 29, 111; 47:4; 48:29, etc.
Edward Brennan says
No evidence of Genocide.
Are you paying attention Irelands Gov. and your Gobshites for Gaza.