Bezalel Smotrich Says ICC Seeks His Arrest, Promises Retaliation Against Palestinians

Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he was informed that the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague had requested a warrant for his arrest, calling it “a declaration of war” and promising retaliation against Palestinians.

“Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he was informed that the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague had requested a warrant for his arrest”

Al Jazeera

Smotrich told a news conference that “Last night I was informed that a request for a secret international arrest warrant had been filed against me,” while the process of seeking warrants remained confidential.

Al Jazeera

He said he would use his powers to sign an order to evacuate Khan al-Ahmar, forcibly transferring the Palestinian community from the occupied West Bank village that has endured a years-long legal battle with Israeli authorities for its survival.

The ICC had already issued arrest warrants in November 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for “crimes against humanity and war crimes” committed during Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

The Guardian also reported Smotrich promised to retaliate by waging a “war” on the Palestinian Authority, and said he ordered the evacuation of the Palestinian Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Smotrich framed the ICC move as hostile to Israel’s security, saying “Issuing arrest warrants against the prime minister is a declaration of war,” and adding that “we will fight back with a vengeance.”

The BBC reported that Smotrich blamed the Palestinian Authority and described the move as “a declaration of war,” while the ICC declined to comment because applications were “classified as secret or under seal, unless otherwise authorised by ICC judges.”

Anadolu Ajansı

A senior Palestinian official, Wasel abu Youssef, said the forced evacuation of Khan al-Ahmar was “very dangerous” and called for a firm international response to stop what he called further crimes.

BBC also quoted Palestinian Authority Minister Muayyad Shaaban, head of the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, denouncing the evacuation order as “a dangerous escalation” in a policy of forcible displacement.

The Guardian said Smotrich reflected Israeli government anger at what it sees as Palestinian backing for international legal action over the conflict in Gaza, and quoted him saying “The Palestinian Authority has started a war, and it will get a war.”

The ICC’s warrant process described in the reporting hinges on whether judges find “reasonable grounds” to conclude a suspect has committed crimes under ICC jurisdiction, with prosecutors submitting sealed applications under new court rules.

The Guardian said the ICC has previously issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant in November 2024, and that a request for another ICC arrest warrant against a sitting Israeli official could trigger additional retaliation against the court by the US, a key Israeli ally.

The BBC reported that Israel is not an ICC member state and rejects its jurisdiction, but that the Palestinian territories were admitted as an ICC member state in 2015, and that a ruling by judges means the court can look at potential war crimes carried out by Hamas fighters in Israel and by Israelis in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Sanctions and countermeasures form part of the backdrop, with the Al Jazeera report saying judges and prosecutors at the ICC have since been cut off by banks, credit card companies and tech giants like Amazon as a result of sanctions brought by the Trump administration.

In the same vein, the Guardian said Britain and four other western countries last year imposed sanctions on Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, accusing them of repeatedly inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, while Smotrich called for the permanent conquest of Gaza and the re-establishment of Jewish settlements there that Israel abandoned in 2005.