ICC prosecutor reportedly ordered to keep silent on arrest warrants for Israelis
Judges tell Karim Khan behind closed doors that public announcements are putting pressure on international court investigating alleged war crimes, Guardian reports
International Criminal Court judges have reportedly forbidden prosecutor Karim Khan from publicly disclosing any new applications for arrest warrants in his case against Israel, in a move apparently aimed at lowering pressure on the war crimes tribunal.
The secret order bars Khan from publicly announcing applications to the court for arrest warrants or his intention to seek them, as he looks to level fresh war crimes charges against Israelis, UK newspaper The Guardian reported Monday.
According to the report, judges have bristled at Khan for announcing plans last year to seek arrest warrants — later granted — for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant over suspected war crimes in Gaza, complaining that publicity generated around the disclosures has generated undue pressure on the court.
Khan is preparing to apply for warrants for additional Israeli suspects in connection with alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the West Bank and Gaza, sources familiar with the situation told The Guardian.
Khan’s announcement in May 2024 that he was seeking charges against Netanyahu and Gallant, and the court’s issuance of arrest warrants for the pair in November, sparked a flurry of accusations and condemnations from Israel and its allies.
Netanyahu’s office reacted in November by portraying the warrants as “antisemitic” and “equivalent to a modern Dreyfus trial.”
In February, the US placed economic sanctions on Khan to punish the ICC for the warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant.
Court officials said the public announcements surrounding the warrants had resulted in pressure on the judges deciding on the applications, The Guardian reported.
According to unconfirmed reports, the pressure has included intimidation against members of the court, prompting the ICC to issue a statement last year pushing back against what it said were threats of retaliations around the case.
Statement of the #ICC Office of the Prosecutor https://t.co/Cw331pMcDm
— Int'l Criminal Court (@IntlCrimCourt) May 3, 2024
With the order, Khan is barred from making any allusion to applications for arrest warrants and must seek the court’s permission to disclose future requests for warrants, according to The Guardian.
The newspaper, citing court officials, said Khan’s public announcements of his decision to seek warrants in the case against Israel and several other cases were a change from the quieter approach taken by his predecessor Fatou Bensouda.
A spokesperson for the prosecutor said they “cannot confirm or deny the existence or content of any judicial decision which has not been made public by the court.”
They claimed Khan acted in accordance with the court’s legal framework.
Last week, the ICC Appeals Chamber ruled that Israel has a right to challenge the court’s jurisdiction to try Israeli citizens for war crimes. Despite this procedural victory, the Appeals Chamber said it was not ruling on Israel’s request that the warrants be suspended.
The International Criminal Court is an independent body that was established in 2002. It seeks to hold individuals criminally responsible for the world’s most heinous atrocities: war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression. The warrants issued against Netanyahu and Gallant marked the first time a sitting leader of a major Western ally has been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity by the global court of justice and have sparked major pushback from supporters of Israel, including the US.
The ICC is distinct from the International Court of Justice, a United Nations body that deals with disputes between two or more countries.
On Monday, the ICJ opened a week of hearings on Israel’s humanitarian obligations toward the Palestinians, more than 50 days into its blockade on aid entering war-ravaged Gaza.
At the hearing, Palestinian Ambassador to the Netherlands Ammar Hijazi accused Israel of breaching international law.
“Israel is starving, killing and displacing Palestinians while also targeting and blocking humanitarian organizations trying to save their lives,” he told the court.
Israel denies deliberately targeting civilians and aid staff as part of the war that was triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
In total, 40 states and four international organizations are scheduled to participate. Though Israel is not attending the hearings at the ICJ, its closest ally, the United States, is scheduled to speak on Wednesday.
The court will likely take months to rule. Experts say the decision, though not legally binding, could profoundly impact international jurisprudence, international aid to Israel, and public opinion.
The Times of Israel Community.