Prosecutor of Netanyahu accused

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — As the International Criminal Court’s top prosecutor sought war crimes charges this year against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over actions in Gaza, he was engulfed in a very different personal crisis playing out behind the scenes.

Karim Khan faced accusations that he tried for more than a year to coerce a female aide into a sexual relationship and groped her against her will. He’s categorically denied the allegations, saying there was “no truth to suggestions of misconduct.” Court officials have said they may have been made as part of an Israeli intelligence smear campaign.

Two co-workers in whom the woman confided at the ICC’s headquarters at The Hague reported the alleged misconduct in early May to the court’s independent watchdog, which says it interviewed the woman and ended its inquiry after five days when she opted against filing a formal complaint. Khan himself was never questioned.

But the matter may not be over.

While the woman declined to comment to The Associated Press, people close to her say her initial reluctance was driven by distrust of the in-house watchdog and she has asked the body of member-states that oversees the ICC to launch an external probe. An ICC official with knowledge of the matter who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity confirmed that the request remains under consideration.

The woman still works for the court.

Meanwhile, the presiding judge of an International Criminal Court panel considering a request to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu, his defense minister and senior Hamas terrorist leaders has been replaced on medical grounds.

The court published a decision Friday granting a request by Romanian judge Iulia Motoc to be taken off the case “based on medical grounds and the need to safeguard the proper administration of justice.”

Motoc was replaced by Beti Hohler, a Slovenian who was elected as a judge at the court last year after earlier serving as a trial lawyer in the court’s prosecution office.