JNS
Reports of sexual harassment allegations surfaced shortly before prosecutor Karim Khan applied for arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant.
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has requested "full transparency” from the International Criminal Court with regard to reported allegations of misconduct by its top prosecutor, Karim Khan.
“Public reports indicate that allegations of harassment surfaced in early May—just a few days before Prosecutor Khan applied for arrest warrants against the Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of Israel,” Graham said in a letter to the ICC last week.
“The timing of the allegations is troubling, and only compounds the other strong legal, jurisdictional, and prudential objections I have expressed regarding the Prosecutor’s decision to seek arrest warrants,” the senator went on to say.
Khan’s decision to apply for arrest warrants “took the United States Senate by surprise, and was inconsistent with the Prosecutor’s legal obligations,” Graham noted.
“I request full transparency on the matter to ensure there is no conflict of interest. These media reports are disturbing, and I call for a release of the records pertaining to these allegations, including any decision not to open an investigation, and for an update on where this matter stands.”
The Washington Post reported last week that the ICC chief prosecutor faced accusations that he attempted forcing a female aide into a sexual relationship and “groped her against her will.”
Khan has denied the claims, as ICC officials speculated that they may have been part of an Israeli intelligence smear campaign.
The woman initially confided in two co-workers, who reported the alleged incident to the court’s independent watchdog, according to the Post. Following a five-day probe into the matter, which included an interview with the woman, she decided to lift her complaint.
However, sources close to the woman told the Associated Press that she distrusted the internal watchdog and has since requested that the Assembly of States Parties, which oversees the court, to launch an external investigation.
An ICC official was cited as saying that the request remains under consideration.
According to AP, it obtained documents shared with the ICC’s watchdog and held talks with eight individuals with knowledge on the subject, including sources close to the woman.
One such source told AP that, “This wasn’t a one-time advance or an arm around the shoulder that could be subject to misinterpretation. It was a full-on, repeated pattern of conduct that was carried out over a long period of time.”
The documents read that Khan allegedly asked the woman to rest with him on a hotel bed and then “sexually touched her.” Later, he knocked on her hotel door for 10 minutes at 3 a.m.
Khan, as mentioned, denied the allegations, saying there was “no truth to suggestions of misconduct” and that he has always supported victims of sexual harassment and abuse in his 30 years of work. He added that, if asked, he would cooperate with any inquiry.
In May, Khan demanded the arrest of Netanyahu and Gallant for alleged war crimes. He lumped the two Israelis together with then-Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif and Hamas politburo head Ismail Haniyeh. (All three were eliminated by Israel over the past year.)
The ICC has no jurisdiction as Jerusalem is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, which established the court. But in a legalistic sleight of hand, the court claimed jurisdiction by accepting “Palestine” as a signatory in 2015, even though no such state exists under international law.
The 123 countries that are signatories to the Rome Statute are obligated to act on any arrest warrant it issues, raising the possibility that the two Israeli leaders could be placed under arrest while visiting these places.
