Replacement of ICC judge may delay the arrest of Natanyahu
Facade of the International Criminal Court Photo: Archives
October 25, 2024 Hour: 2:05 pm
The International Criminal Court announce today Friday that it would replace one of the judges who will rule on a request by prosecutors to issue an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a move that could further delay the case based on the request by the court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan.
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The court published a decision granting the request made by Romanian judge Iulia Motoc to be taken off the case “based on medical grounds and the need to safeguard the proper administration of justice.”
The ruling did not elaborate or disclose further details, saying that “the personal medical situation of Judge Motoc is entitled to medical confidentiality.”
Prosecutors in May requested arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and three leaders of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, saying there were reasonable grounds to believe they had committed war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Motoc was replaced by Beti Hohler, a Slovenian who was elected as a judge at the court last year after earlier serving as a trial lawyer in the court’s prosecution office.
In his May request for warrants, Khan accused Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders — Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh — of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza strips and Israel.
Netanyahu called the prosecutor’s accusations against him a “disgrace,” and an attack on the Israeli military and all of Israel.
U.S. President Joe Biden called the request for warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant “outrageous,” adding “whatever this prosecutor might imply, there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas.”
Hamas also denounced the ICC prosecutor’s actions, saying the request to arrest its leaders “equates the victim with the executioner.”
Since the request, Sinwar and Haniyeh have been confirmed killed. Israel has claimed to have killed Deif, but Hamas has said he survived.
Israel is not a member of the court, so even if the arrest warrants are issued, Netanyahu and Gallant do not face any immediate risk of prosecution. But the threat of arrest could make it difficult for the Israeli leaders to travel abroad.
Autor: OSG
Fuente: Eldiario
