Le Monde reported on the role allegedly played in the proceedings by Thomas Lynch, a senior legal adviser at the ICC and longstanding friend and colleague of Khan and his wife.
According to Le Monde, in May 2024 Lynch suggested that Khan organise a dinner in Jerusalem with prominent lawyer Alan Dershowitz. The plan was that Netanyahu himself would join them in the middle of the meal.
Le Monde reported that an anonymous source in the ICC said Lynch tried to sabotage Khan’s pursuit of arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant. The source told Le Monde that Lynch “openly said that for him Palestine is not a state, that Israel is not a party to the Court, and that the office should not investigate it”.
The source further alleged that Lynch referred sexual harassment allegations against Khan to investigators “to get rid of the prosecutor” and “hijack the process” of applying for arrest warrants.
Lynch urged the presidency to start a process by which ICC member states could vote to formally suspend Khan. When this attempt failed, Lynch approached the two deputies and urged them to make the same case to the presidency. This followed leaked reports that Khan was preparing to request arrest warrants for more Israeli officials. It was amid this internal turmoil that the decision was made that Khan should step away on leave while the investigation continued.
w friends like lynch; who needs enemies? lol
