TEHRAN- Israel and its Western allies have been on pins and needles since the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) filed applications for arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war minister Yoav Gallant back in May this year.

In his May request for warrants, Karim Khan accused Netanyahu and Gallant of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. 

An ICC panel of judges was then tasked with considering the applications. 

The decision to issue the arrest warrants have been delayed due to the pressure exerted by the Tel Aviv regime and its allies. 

Now, the abrupt removal of the panel's presiding judge appears to prolong Khan's request even further.

The ICC announced on Friday that Romanian judge Iulia Motoc has been replaced, citing medical grounds. 

It did not elaborate or disclose further details, saying that “the personal medical situation of Judge Motoc is entitled to medical confidentiality.”

Motoc was replaced by Beti Hohler, a Slovenian elected as a judge at the ICC in 2023. 

Ulterior motives lurking behind the replacement are now coming to the forefront.

Back in May, Netanyahu condemned the charges that were filed against him by Khan as a “disgrace” and vowed to continue the genocidal war in Gaza.

President Joe Biden, who has thrown his administration’s full weight behind Israel’s war on Gaza, also called Khan’s move “outrageous”.

Israel has openly shown a complete lack of respect for international organizations.

An investigation by the Guardian and the Israeli-based magazines +972 and Local Call revealed in May that Israel had run an almost decade-long secret “war” against the ICC. The probe said Israel deployed its intelligence agencies to surveil, hack, pressure, smear, and allegedly threaten senior ICC staff to derail the court’s inquiries.

Netanyahu and Gallant stand accused of perpetrating war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza amid Washington’s unwavering support. It added that Israeli intelligence captured the communications of numerous officials of The Hague-based court, including Khan and his predecessor as prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, intercepting phone calls, messages, emails, and documents.

Amid Motoc’s removal on Friday, ICC officials accused the Israeli intelligence of waging a smear campaign against Khan. 

This came after unrelated accusations surfaced that Khan tried for more than a year to coerce a female aide into a sexual relationship. Khan categorically denied the allegations, saying there was “no truth to suggestions of misconduct.” 

Irrespective of the veracity of the accusations, it is crystal clear that Israel has no scruples about demonizing international organizations when they face pressure to bring the regime’s atrocities to the fore. 

Israel has slaughtered close to 43,000 Palestinians in Gaza since launching war on the territory in October last year. 

Israel also continues to butcher Lebanese people under the pretext of targeting positions of the Hezbollah resistance movement. 

The replacement of the ICC judge may let Netanyahu and other Israeli criminals off the hook for now. 

But the dismissal sheds light on the pressure exerted by Israel’s Western allies, in particular the United States, on the court to cover up the Netanyahu regime’s crimes. 

Washington has provided Tel Aviv with additional amounts of weapons during the course of the Gaza war. It has also shielded the regime at the United Nations Security Council through its veto power. 

Currently, growing global anger at Israel’s brutalities in Gaza and Lebanon will not only deepen the regime’s isolation but also that of the US over its unwavering support for the apartheid entity.