Karim Khan’s time as prosecutor at the International Criminal Court looked set to be defined by his probe into Russia’s war in Ukraine. But, he recently confided to a friend, he came to realise his most lasting legacy would be forged in the Middle East.
The announcement from Khan this week that the ICC was seeking arrest warrants against leaders of both Israel and Hamas sent shockwaves through the region — the first time that The Hague court has pursued the leader of a western-backed state.
Khan’s decision to target Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and to move against both warring parties simultaneously, also sparked fury in Israel. It has cast the British barrister into the heart of a conflict that has cost tens of thousands of lives, traumatised Israel, devastated Gaza and sparked protests from Islamabad to New York.