Netanyahu and Lindsey Graham conspired to use sex claims against Khan to delay ICC warrants
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Imran Mulla reports in Middle East Eye on 29 July 2026:
US Senator Lindsey Graham and Benjamin Netanyahu conspired to use sexual misconduct allegations against the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) chief prosecutor to try and delay the court’s arrest warrant for the Israeli prime minister, it has emerged.
The revelation raises further questions about an intensifying intimidation campaign, documented by Middle East Eye last year, which targeted Karim Khan and the ICC over his office’s efforts to bring Gaza war crimes prosecutions against Israeli ministers. It comes following Graham’s death earlier this month – and after Khan was removed from his role as ICC chief prosecutor last Friday in a vote by the court’s member states.
The conversation was reported this week by the New York Times and was in recordings taken by British filmmaker Alex Holder, who followed Graham around for three years for a documentary on his relationship with US President Donald Trump and Netanyahu.
The phone call took place on 29 October 2024, just weeks before ICC judges announced they were issuing arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his defence minister Yoav Gallant. Khan had applied for the warrants in May 2024.
Netanyahu noted to Graham that the ICC judges would be “making the decision very soon”. The Israeli prime minister then said Khan faced allegations of sexual misconduct. He told Graham “the great cloud that it shed” could help delay the arrest warrant for himself.
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Netanyahu and other Israeli ministers have previously claimed that Khan used the warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant to cover up his alleged sexual misdemeanors. But as an MEE investigation last year revealed, Khan had informed the US of his intention to apply for the warrants weeks before he was aware of the allegations. MEE has previously reported that Graham played a significant role in attempting to apply pressure on Khan over his Israel investigation.
On 1 May 2024, before applying for the warrants, Khan had a conference call with senior ICC officials, Graham and a bipartisan group of senators. According to material reviewed by MEE, Graham told Khan that if he proceeded with the warrants “you may as well shoot the hostages yourself” and “we will sanction you”. He added that the ICC was “made for Africa and thugs like [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, not democracies like Israel”.