PNN – Amid ongoing efforts by the United States and the Zionist regime to counter the legal prosecution of the regime’s officials, the dismissal of the International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan has sparked doubts regarding the institution’s independence; nevertheless, legal experts emphasize that this decision does not affect the legal validity of the arrest warrants issued for Zionist officials.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network; Karim Khan, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), has finally been removed from his post—nearly two years after the first allegations were raised against him. This decision coincided with intensifying U.S. pressure to dismantle the court and reports regarding the Israeli regime’s role in the vote.
Karim Khan’s removal comes at a time when the court is facing major challenges, including a U.S. government campaign to “dismantle” the ICC—an institution established to prosecute those responsible for the most heinous crimes against humanity.
The Assembly of States Parties to the International Criminal Court—the Court’s oversight body—announced in a statement that member states voted by an overwhelming majority on Friday (July 24, 2026) to remove Khan, the British lawyer, from office due to serious misconduct and serious breach of duty.
In this context, the news outlet Al-Ahed noted in a commentary that the removal of Karim Khan as Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court—occurring while the institution is pursuing cases involving allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity against officials of the Zionist regime—has sparked widespread reactions within legal and political circles.
According to the “Al-Ahad” news outlet, this decision—reached following a vote in favor by 82 of the Court’s 125 members during a meeting of the Assembly of States Parties at the UN headquarters in New York—is viewed by some observers as a sign of mounting political pressure on the international justice mechanism.
Arrest Warrants Remain in Effect
In this context, Omar Nashabeh, a researcher and expert in criminal justice and human rights, emphasized in an interview with *Al-Ahed* that the removal of Karim Khan would have no legal impact on the arrest warrants issued against Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant—the former Israeli Minister of War—because these warrants were issued by an independent judicial chamber of the Court and do not constitute a personal decision by the prosecutor.
He noted that, following this decision, public attention has shifted from the cases involving Netanyahu to the International Criminal Court itself, as pressure from the United States and the Israeli regime against the institution and its officials is nothing new.
Pointing to the pressures and threats previously directed at Fatou Bensouda—the Court’s former prosecutor—over her pursuit of the Palestine case, Nashabeh added that US sanctions against a number of the Court’s judges and officials should be viewed in the same context; however, these actions do not invalidate the judicial decisions that have been issued.
He also emphasized that Netanyahu’s framing of Karim Khan’s potential removal as a “political victory” is primarily intended for domestic and electoral consumption and does not alter the legal status of the arrest warrants.
New Complaint Filed Against Trump and Netanyahu
Meanwhile, May Al-Khansa, head of the “International Coalition against Impunity,” noted the existence of legal disagreements regarding the legitimacy of the process to remove Karim Khan. She stated that while the Rome Statute provides for the removal of the Prosecutor under specific conditions, it simultaneously guarantees his independence—a factor that could serve as grounds for a legal challenge against this decision.
Criticizing the influence of political considerations on international judicial processes, she asserted that Karim Khan’s removal has no legal impact on the arrest warrants issued for Netanyahu and Gallant, and that these cases will continue to proceed through the judicial process.
Al-Khansa also announced the preparation of a new complaint to be filed with the International Criminal Court regarding war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the crime of aggression in Lebanon and Iran, stating that the complaint is scheduled for submission in mid-August.
According to her, the case will examine the liability of U.S. President Donald Trump—alongside that of Israeli regime officials—under international law, based on certain positions and statements he has made; once the documentation is complete, the case will be submitted to the International Criminal Court for adjudication.