Hostage families sue prosecutor for making the ICC a ‘branch of Hamas’

The suit also alleges that Khan pursued the warrants against the Israeli government as a distraction to avoid prosecution for alleged sexual offenses.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Three hostage families have filed a lawsuit in the Jerusalem District Court against International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan for allegedly using his position to provide support for Hamas.

Families of hostages Avinatan Or, Eitan Mor and Omri Miran are being represented by Shurat HaDin lawyer Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, who argues that Khan was not acting in good faith when he filed arrest warrants for members of the Israeli government.

The suit for 20 million NIS argues that Khan waited eight months before filing arrest warrants for war crimes against now-deceased Hamas leaders Mohammed Deif, Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh.

At the same time Khan filed the warrants against Hamas leaders, he filed additional warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, a move the suit interprets as a moral equivalency between a legitimately elected government and terrorist groups.

The suit also mentions that Khan failed to file warrants for other Hamas leaders responsible, as well as Palestinian Islamic Jihad, for participating in and planning the kidnapping of 250 people and the murder of 1,200 others on Oct. 7.

The suit also alleges that Khan pursued the warrants against the Israeli government as a distraction to avoid prosecution for alleged sexual offenses.

The families said Khan refused to take steps that would have targeted terrorists, particularly Hamas leaders who live in ease in Qatar.

Attorney Darshan-Leitner stated in the suit, “The International Criminal Court has become a branch of Hamas. 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 as a criminal state.”

She added, “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,” reads the lawsuit.