Israel criticises ICC: "Crooked prosecutor," "corrupted court"

Israel’s Foreign Ministry has accused Qatar of attempting to influence the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor, calling the court "corrupted."

“Buying off the ICC Prosecutor. Qatar launched an intelligence operation & promised to ‘look after’ Karim Khan over targeting Israel. When the operation’s manager was asked if backing came from a sheikh or the state, he said: ‘the state.’ A crooked prosecutor. A corrupted court,” the ministry wrote on X, Caliber.Az reports. 

The statement was made in response to an opinion piece by The Wall Street Journal, which cited a witness account alleging that the Qatari government promised to “look after” ICC prosecutor Karim Khan. The claim suggests the offer came shortly after Khan became aware of accusations of sexual assault against him and in connection with his decision to pursue legal action involving Israeli leadership.

According to the report, the manager of the alleged intelligence operation was asked whether the backing came from an individual sheikh or the Qatari state, to which he replied: “No, it’s the state.”

Qatar has denied the allegations. The country’s embassy pointed to a previous statement issued in November describing the claims as “unfounded.”

The ICC Office of the Prosecutor said it is “deeply concerned by the unverified allegations against its personnel.”

On May 20, 2024, Khan requested arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. The court issued the warrants on November 21, 2024, and in October 2025 rejected Israel’s appeal in the case.

By Sabina Mammadli