Netanyahu revels in removal of 'con job' ICC prosecutor

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reads a book at the Israeli Knesset during a session of the Israeli Parliament in Jerusalem on July 16, 2026. [AFP].

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the subject of an ICC arrest warrant, on Sunday bashed former prosecutor Karim Khan as a "con job," following his dismissal over allegations of sexual misconduct.

Khan successfully pushed in 2024 for Netanyahu and other Israeli officials to be charged with alleged war crimes over the Gaza war.

The move, which sparked the ire of Israel's ally, the United States, has complicated Netanyahu's travels to countries that are members of the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC).

Netanyahu, speaking on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures" program, claimed that Khan filed the charges to distract from his own alleged crimes.

"He thought, if there's an indictment, I'm going to have a job. There was an indictment, and he lost his job," the Israeli premier joked.

"He lost his job because he was removed by a vast majority of nations who knew that he was a con job."

Khan, 56, was suspended last month by a key governing body of the ICC and has denied all accusations of wrongdoing.

But in a vote on Friday at UN headquarters in New York, 82 of 125 members voted by secret ballot for him to be removed for "serious misconduct and a serious breach of duty."

His lawyer said he plans to challenge the decision "through all available legal mechanisms."

Netanyahu also took aim at New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani -- who previously expressed his desire to arrest the Israeli premier if he visited the city, but admitted this week he did not have such authority.

Khan's dismissal shows that Mamdani was basing his pursuit on "bogus charges," Netanyahu claimed, while also accusing the mayor, who is Muslim, of "fomenting hate" against Jews.

Netanyahu said he intends to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September.

"I intend to come and speak the truth, speak for Israel and for the Israeli-American alliance from the podium of the United Nations," he said.