On May 20, the same day that International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan unexpectedly requested arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders involved in the Gaza conflict, he abruptly canceled a sensitive evidence-gathering mission in the region, according to eight people with direct knowledge of the matter.
According to four sources, US officials had been preparing for the visit for months.
Khan’s decision to seek the warrants derailed plans by Washington and London to allow the prosecutor and his team to visit Gaza and Israel. The court would have collected evidence of war crimes on the ground and offered Israeli leaders a first chance to present their position and any measures they were taking to respond to the war crimes allegations, five sources with direct knowledge of the exchanges said.
