After all the acts of destruction and civilian deaths in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, Netanyahu's government is not as internationally isolated as many believed.

 

Thanks to broad U.S. backing and an intensive diplomatic campaign, Israel succeeded in persuading 82 states that are parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to vote in favor of removing the Court's Prosecutor, Karim Khan.

 

No one can say with certainty how credible the sexual misconduct allegations against Khan are.

 

His lawyers argued that the vote to remove him was unlawful and was not based on conclusive evidence. What can be stated with confidence, however, is Israel's well-documented effort to remove Khan after he issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on charges of crimes committed in Gaza.

 

The allegations against Netanyahu and Gallant are fundamentally different from those directed at Khan. They are supported by extensive evidence, reflected in the deaths of more than 70,000 Palestinians, around one-third of them children and the vast majority civilians.

 

Backed by unprecedented support from the Trump administration, Netanyahu's government launched an aggressive campaign to undermine the credibility of the ICC. Washington began by imposing sweeping sanctions on the Court itself and on 11 of its judges.

 

For the first time in Israel's history, its leaders faced such accusations before the ICC. In response, they launched a coordinated political, intelligence, and media campaign to discredit the Court, focusing particularly on Karim Khan after immense pressure failed to deter him from issuing the arrest warrants which, notably, also included leaders of Hamas.

 

Only weeks after the warrants were issued making Netanyahu a wanted figure who could no longer freely fly through the airspace of dozens of countries for fear of arrest sexual misconduct allegations against Khan surfaced.

 

Two female ICC employees made the accusations, one of whom appeared in a television interview where she seemed uncertain and visibly uncomfortable with her statements.

 

It is not unusual for Israel to orchestrate such campaigns against its critics.

 

Throughout its history, when physical elimination has not been possible or politically feasible, it has often turned to character assassination, seeking to destroy the reputations of politicians, scientists, intellectuals, and other public figures.

 

Over the years, numerous international figures have been targeted by similar campaigns, which in many cases succeeded either in destroying their credibility entirely or in neutralizing their influence.

 

In Khan's case, Israel's Foreign Ministry did not deny its role in pursuing his removal. According to Axios, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar mobilized Israeli embassies worldwide to support the campaign to oust the ICC prosecutor and established a special unit within the ministry, in coordination with Mossad, to secure backing for Khan's dismissal.

 

One might have understood Israel's influence and ability to shape international positions had this confrontation with the ICC occurred before the events in Gaza, which prompted widespread condemnation from governments around the world and brought millions of demonstrators into the streets demanding an end to the violence.

 

What is truly disheartening is that Israel achieved this diplomatic victory after events that many observers describe as among the gravest humanitarian tragedies since the Second World War.

 

Some may argue that countries voted in favor of Khan's removal solely because of the criminal allegations against him, not for political reasons related to Israel.

 

If even one country making that claim can convince the world's people of its sincerity, then it deserves applause for pulling off such a remarkable feat.