Netanyahu celebrates ICC prosecutor removal

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the removal of International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan, calling it a decision that exposes the truth about corruption at the court. Khan was dismissed by a vote of ICC member states on Friday, July -, 2026, following a lengthy investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct.

Netanyahu, who along with former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is subject to an ICC arrest warrant, accused Khan of pursuing the warrants for personal and political reasons. In statements on social media and in a television interview on Sunday, Netanyahu alleged that Khan initiated the case to divert attention from the misconduct allegations against him. He claimed Khan canceled a planned visit to Israel and abandoned a review of Israel's judicial system as the allegations emerged, then suddenly moved to seek the warrants as a political shield. That shield has now been torn away, Netanyahu stated.

The ICC issued the arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant in November 2024, alleging war crimes and crimes against humanity related to Israel's military campaign in Gaza following the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023. The court simultaneously...