ICC prosecutor says receiving 'threats', US pressure on 'Israel' probe
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In an interview with Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun, Karim Khan revealed that ICC officials were receiving personal "threats" from supporters of "Israel".
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Karim Ahmed Khan, International Criminal Court chief prosecutor, speaks during a news conference at the Ministry of Justice in Khartoum, on August 12, 2021. (AP)
The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has raised concerns about pressure from the US regarding the court's investigations into "Israel's" atrocities in Gaza. In an interview with Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun on Monday, Karim Khan revealed that ICC officials have been receiving personal "threats" from backers of "Israel".
“If we allow these types of attacks … threats … to dismantle or erode the legal institutions that have been built since the Second World War, does anybody believe it will end with the International Criminal Court?” warned Khan.
Highlighting Japan's role as the ICC's largest funder, Khan urged Japan to use its influence to sway the US regarding the court’s investigations.
Read next: ICC must be allowed to work ‘without intimidation’, say 93 members
“You cannot allow an attack on the court … then you have no rules-based system," Khan said, adding, “It’s better for the country and better for the world, almost invariably, to have the courage to stand on principle rather than standing on expediency."
“Our responsibility is to use our resources effectively to investigate incriminating and exonerating evidence equally until such time as we feel that the major criminal allegations have been thoroughly investigated,” Khan said.
Pressure on ICC
Last month, the ICC continued studying whether or not it has jurisdiction over matters concerning "Israel" and Palestine, as Israeli officials struggle to figure out the timeline or expected results of the discussions.
The issue is of particular interest as Karim Khan announced a request for arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Security Minister Yoav Gallant at an earlier time this year. Khan's decision was subjected to backlash and pressure from "Israel" and its allies, despite the request including three top Palestinian Resistance officials.
Threats and pressure on the ICC are not new.
Yossi Cohen, the former head of "Israel's" intelligence agency Mossad and Netanyahu's "unofficial messenger," had threatened Fatou Bensouda, the former chief prosecutor of the ICC.
The ICC case goes back to 2015, when Bensouda began a preliminary examination into the situation in Palestine, assessing allegations of crimes in Gaza, the West Bank, and east al-Quds.
On May 20, Khan revealed that the ICC was pursuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Security Minister Yoav Gallant on war crime charges. If these warrants are issued, Netanyahu and Gallant would be barred from traveling to any of the 124 ICC member countries, where its rulings are enforceable.
On that note, late last month, Khan stressed that the court has jurisdiction to investigate Israelis, urging judges to decide on arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, which he had requested months ago.
