British-Israeli lawyer Nicholas Kaufman allegedly warned International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan, that if arrest warrants for Israeli officials aren’t dropped ‘he and the ICC will be destroyed.’
Full story: https://www.rappler.com/world/middle-east/international-criminal-court-issues-arrest-warrants-israel-netanyahu-gallant-al-masri/
00:00British-Israeli lawyer Nicholas Kaufman allegedly warned International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan that if arrest warrants for Israeli officials aren't dropped, he and the ICC will be destroyed.
00:12Kaufman is also the lawyer of former President Rodrigo Duterte in his Crimes Against Humanity case in the ICC.
00:18Citing a note of a meeting lodged on file at the ICC, digital news organization Middle East Eye says Kaufman told Khan he spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's legal advisor and was, quote, authorized to make him a proposal that would allow Khan to, quote, climb down the tree.
00:34In November 2024, the ICC issued arrest warrants against Netanyahu, a former Israeli defense chief and a Hamas leader for the Gaza conflict.
00:42Kaufman allegedly told Khan to reclassify warrants and underlying information as confidential.
00:48He also allegedly warned that if Kaufman was applying for more arrest warrants for other Israeli officials, then all options will be off the table.
00:56Asked about the exchange, Kaufman tells MEE, quote, I do not deny that I told Mr. Khan that he should be looking for a way to extricate himself from his errors.
01:04However, he denies making any proposals on behalf of the Israeli government.
01:09The MEE says the exchange between Kaufman and Khan took place in The Hague, Netherlands on May 1, 2025.
01:16Netanyahu's office did not respond to MEE's request for comment.
