The Assembly of States Parties of the International Criminal Court voted on Friday to remove chief prosecutor Karim Khan from office, the first such dismissal in the court’s 24-year history. In a secret ballot at UN headquarters in New York, 82 of the 125 member states supported his removal for “serious misconduct and a serious breach of duty,” according to a press release cited by the Neue Zürcher Zeitung. Khan, a British lawyer, had been suspended the previous month after allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced nearly two years ago; he has denied all accusations and his lawyer stated he would challenge the decision “through all available legal mechanisms.”

Viewed from Jerusalem, the dismissal was welcomed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who in an interview with Fox News described Khan as a “con job” and a “criminal.” Mr Netanyahu claimed the prosecutor had brought war crimes charges against him in 2024 to distract from his own alleged sexual offences. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said the decision had exposed “the moral bankruptcy of a corrupt prosecutor,” while a US State Department spokesman called the ICC a “hopelessly corrupt institution” and reiterated Washington’s aim to dismantle it. The UN special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, criticised the removal, arguing it “coincides perfectly with the fight to annul the arrest warrant against Netanyahu” and urging lawyers and judges worldwide to redouble their efforts.

Mr Netanyahu confirmed he intends to attend the UN General Assembly in New York in September, despite an earlier call by Mayor Zohran Mamdani for US authorities to arrest him on the basis of the ICC warrant. The prime minister accused the mayor of “fomenting hate” and said he would “speak the truth” for Israel from the UN podium. The 2024 arrest warrants, issued for Mr Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes in Gaza, remain in effect: the Philippine Star, citing the Associated Press, reported that the warrants can only be withdrawn by ICC judges and are unaffected by Khan’s removal.

The vote deepens the turmoil at a court already facing a US-led campaign to dismantle it and Venezuela’s announcement, hours after the decision, that it would withdraw from the Rome Statute. The internal investigation into Khan’s conduct was criticised by a panel of judges as flawed, according to a confidential report seen by the Guardian and cited by the NZZ, which noted that the judges found the evidence largely based on hearsay. Khan’s legal team has said it will contest the dismissal, while Mr Netanyahu is expected in Washington on Tuesday for talks with President Donald Trump before the September General Assembly.