Israel's far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich announced Tuesday that he was informed the prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in the Hague has requested a secret arrest warrant against him. Smotrich did not specify who informed him of the warrant or reveal the reasons for the request. The office of the prosecutor at the ICC declined to comment, citing the confidentiality of the process.
Smotrich described the move as a declaration of war by the Palestinian Authority. In retaliation, he promised to wage war on the authority and ordered the evacuation of the Palestinian Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Smotrich is the third Israeli official targeted by the ICC, following warrants issued in November 2024 for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence chief Yoav Gallant, as well as Hamas leader Ibrahim Al-Masri, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza conflict.
Last year, Britain and four other nations imposed sanctions on Smotrich and another far-right Israeli cabinet minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, accusing them of repeatedly inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. Smotrich has also called for the permanent conquest of Gaza and the re-establishment of Jewish settlements there, notions that Netanyahu has rejected.