THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The International Criminal Court will launch an external inquiry into allegations of sexual misconduct against its chief prosecutor, The Associated Press has learned, keeping alive a case that the court’s watchdog closed within five days.

Karim Khan has strongly denied allegations that he tried to coerce a female adviser into having sex, and the claims come amid reports of an ongoing Israeli intelligence campaign to discredit the court’s prosecution of Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes in Gaza.

The external inquiry was approved this week at a meeting of the court’s watchdog, the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute, according to three people familiar with the matter, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door deliberations. closed.

It is unclear who will lead the investigation, the people said, noting that possibilities include law enforcement officials in Europe and a law firm. The United Nations’ internal watchdog for such an investigation has also been discussed, but that could be fraught with conflict-of-interest concerns because Karim’s wife, a prominent human rights lawyer, previously worked at the agency in Kenya, investigating sexual harassment.

Neither Päivi Kaukoranta, a Finnish diplomat who currently heads the ICC’s watchdog, nor Khan’s lawyer immediately responded to requests for comment.

An AP investigate found that two court employees trusted by the alleged victim came forward with the allegation in May, weeks before Khan. requested arrest warrants against Netanyahuits defense minister and three Hamas leaders, accused of war crimes. A three-judge panel is now evaluating that request.

The AP reported that Khan traveled frequently with the woman after transferring her to his office from another department at the ICC headquarters in The Hague.

During a trip abroad, Khan allegedly asked the woman to rest with him on a hotel bed and then “sexually touched her,” according to ad documents shared with the court watchdog and seen by the AP. Later, he came to her room at 3 am and knocked on the door for 10 minutes.

Other alleged non-consensual behavior cited in the documents included locking his office door and putting his hand in her pocket. He also allegedly asked her on several occasions to go on a vacation together.

After the two co-workers reported the alleged behavior, the court’s internal watchdog interviewed the woman, but she opted not to file a complaint because of her distrust of the watchdog, according to the AP investigation. Khan was never questioned and the watchdog’s investigation was closed within five days.

Although the court’s watchdog could not determine wrongdoing, it nevertheless urged Khan in a memo to minimize contact with the woman to protect the rights of all involved and protect the integrity of the court.

Under Khan, the ICC became more assertive in combating crimes against humanity, war crimes and related atrocities. Along the way, he added to a growing list of enemies.

Last September, following the opening of an investigation into Russian atrocities in Ukraine, the court suffered a debilitating cyber attack which left staff unable to work for weeks. He also hired an intern who later turned criminal accused in the US of being a Russian spy.

Israel has also waged its own influence campaign since the ICC admitted Palestine as a member and in 2015 opened a preliminary investigation into Israel’s actions.

the Guardian newspaper in London and several Israeli news outlets reported this summer that Israel’s intelligence agencies over the past decade allegedly targeted senior ICC staff, including putting Khan’s predecessor under surveillance and showing up at her home with envelopes full of cash to discredit her.

An outside inquiry would go further than what Khan proposed when, following the AP report, he called the ICC’s domestic watchdog to investigate the matter and said it would cooperate fully.

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Goodman reported from Miami. Contact AP’s global investigative team at [email protected].