Even If Khan Is Guilty, Netanyahu Remains a War Criminal

The dismissal of ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan over sexual misconduct allegations has been met with glee by Israeli officials, who see it as an opportunity to discredit the entire case against their prime minister. But we must be absolutely clear about one thing: even if Karim Khan is guilty of sexual offenses, that does not erase or reverse the fact that Benjamin Netanyahu is an infant killer.

The two issues are entirely separate. Khan’s personal conduct, however reprehensible, has no bearing on the mountain of evidence documenting Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, where thousands of children have been killed, hospitals bombed, and civilian infrastructure systematically destroyed. The arrest warrants issued against Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant were based on documented war crimes and crimes against humanity—not on Khan’s character.

Israeli officials like Ambassador Yechiel Leiter are cynically attempting to conflate these matters, claiming without evidence that Khan fabricated the genocide case “to divert attention from his sex crimes.” This is a transparent propaganda tactic designed to shield Netanyahu from accountability.

A rapist can correctly identify a murderer. The validity of the charges against Netanyahu stands independently of the prosecutor who brought them. The corpses of Gaza’s children speak for themselves, and no sex scandal involving the prosecutor will ever bring them back or excuse the crimes committed against them.