ICC prosecutor visits Israel and West Bank in unprecedented trip

The surprise visit is unofficial and will not include access to Gaza.

 International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan speaks during an interview with Reuters about the violence in Israel and Gaza in The Hague, Netherlands October 12, 2023 (photo credit: PIROSCHKA VAN DE WOUW/REUTERS)
International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan speaks during an interview with Reuters about the violence in Israel and Gaza in The Hague, Netherlands October 12, 2023
(photo credit: PIROSCHKA VAN DE WOUW/REUTERS)

International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan has landed in Israel for a surprise, non-official visit to meet with the families of victims of Hamas's October 7 invasion of the South. 

The visit will not include Gaza, which the prosecutor had demanded, and even had made a public display of visiting the Egyptian/Gaza border on October 29 to try to pressure Israel to allow him in and to speed up the pace of allowing in humanitarian aid.

 The entrance of the Internatinal Criminal Court (ICC) is seen in The Hague March 3, 2011.  (credit: REUTERS/JERRY LAMPEN)
The entrance of the Internatinal Criminal Court (ICC) is seen in The Hague March 3, 2011. (credit: REUTERS/JERRY LAMPEN)

No announcement ahead of visit

No announcement was made either by the ICC or any government body in advance of the visit and no itinerary has been publicly shared, though discussions about a visit of some kind go back a long time.

Leading into this surprise visit, the prosecutor had recently met with some of the Israeli families who flew to see him in The Hague.