“These are outrageous attacks on legal professionals for doing their jobs. They are part of a broader US assault on international law as such,” Tom Dannenbaum, Professor of Law at Stanford Law School, told The New Arab.

Dannenbaum warned that Washington would probably seek to influence the selection process so that the next prosecutor freezes or terminates the Palestine investigation and requests the withdrawal of the Netanyahu and Gallant warrants.

“Quite apart from US influence on the election process, candidates will be certain that any commitment to the Palestine investigation and the associated cases (or to any investigation of US persons in any future situation) will lead to their individual financial sanctioning by the United States and would entail the risk of exposure to other forms of intimidation and coercion,” he said.

Dannenbaum similarly said that “it is essential that States Parties act proactively and collectively to protect the Court, the process of electing and appointing a new prosecutor, and the individual that takes that role from these multifaceted attacks”.