Israeli hostage families sue ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan, claim his actions back Hamas 'terror murderers'

The families of three hostages have filed a NIS 20 million ($5.9 million) lawsuit against the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan.

“The International Criminal Court has become a branch of Hamas,” stated Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, founder and president of Shuran-HaDin Israel Law Center, the NGO representing the families.

“Through its direct actions, it has given the terror murderers tremendous backing,” she continued. “Khan’s goal is to prevent Israel from achieving the war’s objectives – the destruction of Hamas and the release of the hostages – by portraying it (Israel) as a criminal state."

Brought forward by the families of Avinatan Or, Eitan Mor and Omri Miran, the lawsuit alleges that “the defendant not only slandered the State of Israel, not only presented false representations to the plaintiffs, but also provided services to terrorist organizations and assisted them.”

It further argues that Khan created “blood libels…against the State of Israel and its leaders,” and has “granted legitimacy to the terrorists to continue extorting Israel while holding and abusing the hostages.”

According to The Jerusalem Post, the lawsuit “demands that Khan be investigated for acting against Israel under ulterior motives - namely to sideline…sexual abuse allegations against him.”

Allegations of Khan’s sexual misconduct have come out in media reports and are being investigated by the ICC.

Khan has denied any wrongdoing.

A report in The Guardian stated that “court officials close to the prosecutor have suggested he may have been the target of a smear campaign.” The woman at the heart of the allegations against Khan, who has not formally accused him, is allegedly hesitant to come forward, in part due to fears that the information “could be exploited by Israel or opponents of the court.”

While The Guardian said it found no evidence that the story originated as a smear campaign, it had previously reported on Israel's efforts to pressure the ICC. According to that report, the Mossad allegedly threatened former ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, who in 2021 opened a war crimes investigation against Israel.

Citing “accounts shared with ICC officials,” the report claims that then-Mossad Director Yossi Cohen told Bensouda the following, which was interpreted as a threat: “You should help us and let us take care of you. You don’t want to be getting into things that could compromise your security or that of your family.”

The report also claimed that an “Israeli source briefed on the operation against Bensouda said the Mossad’s objective was to compromise the prosecutor or enlist her as someone who would cooperate with Israel’s demands.”

Responding to the claims, a spokesperson for the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “The questions forwarded to us are replete with many false and unfounded allegations meant to hurt the state of Israel.”

"The IDF did not and does not conduct surveillance or other intelligence operations against the ICC.”