War crimes court replaces judge in Netanyahu arrest case on health grounds

By Stephanie van den Berg

The International Criminal Court (ICC) said on Friday it had replaced one of the judges deciding on a prosecution request for an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a move that could lead to further delays in the case.

Romanian magistrate Iulia Motoc asked to leave the three-judge panel on health grounds on Friday and was immediately replaced by Slovenian ICC judge Beti Hohler, the president of the ICC said.

The move is expected to further delay a decision in the case focused on the Gaza conflict as the new judge will need time to catch up on the filings.

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In May prosecutors asked for arrest warrants for Netanyahu, his Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and three Hamas leaders, saying there were reasonable grounds that the men had committed war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The court has no set deadlines, but has generally taken about three months to rule on requests for arrest warrants in previous cases.

The decision had already been held up by several rounds of legal filings from Israel challenging the jurisdiction of the court.