ICC prosecutor canceled fact-finding visit to region on same day he requested arrest warrants

THE HAGUE — On May 20, the same day International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan made a surprise request for warrants to arrest the leaders of Israel and Hamas involved in the Gaza conflict, he suddenly canceled a sensitive mission to collect evidence in the region, eight people with direct knowledge of the matter tell Reuters.

Planning for the visit had been underway for months with US officials, four of the sources say.

Khan’s decision to request the warrants upended the plans backed by Washington and London for the prosecutor and his team to visit Gaza and Israel. The court was set to gather on-site evidence of war crimes and offer Israeli leaders a first opportunity to present their position and any action they were taking to respond to the allegations of war crimes, five sources with direct knowledge of the exchanges tell Reuters.

Khan’s request for a warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — the court’s first attempt to detain a sitting, Western-backed head of state — also flew in the face of efforts the US and Britain were leading to prevent the court from prosecuting Israeli leaders, the sources say.

The two states have said the court has no jurisdiction over Israel and that seeking warrants would not help resolve the conflict.

Khan’s office tells Reuters the decision to seek warrants was, in line with its approach in all cases, based on an assessment by the prosecutor that there was enough evidence to proceed, and the view that seeking arrest warrants immediately could prevent alleged ongoing crimes.

Reuters is the first to report in detail about the planned trip and the repercussions of its cancellation.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.