“Yesterday I was informed that the criminal prosecutor of the anti-Semitic court in The Hague has filed a request for a secret international arrest warrant against me,” Smotrich said, according to the Times of Israel (ToI) website, calling the move a “declaration of war.”
He also said that in response he ordered the demolition of the Palestinian Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar east of Jerusalem. It is supposed to be retaliation against the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-government in some parts of the occupied West Bank based on agreements with Israel and which, according to Smotrich, lobbied the ICC for the issuance of an arrest warrant.
“The Palestinian Authority started a war and it will get a war,” said Smotrič, who had previously repeatedly called for the complete annexation of the West Bank, according to Reuters. According to ToI, despite the minister’s statement, it was not clear whether he himself had the authority to order the demolition of the village.
The demolition of the mentioned village was authorized by an Israeli court already in 2018, with the justification that due to the lack of permits, it was an illegal construction. “However, the state has been postponing the demolition for a long time due to fear of a possible international reaction,” ToI added.
An arrest warrant not only for Netanyahu
Israel does not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC, but the Palestinian Authority does. Already in 2024, this court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and the then Defense Minister Yoav Galant on suspicion of committing war crimes during the war against the terrorist movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
This Sunday, the Israeli daily Haarec wrote that the ICC prosecutor also requested the issuance of arrest warrants for Smotrich, Minister of Internal Security Itamar Ben Gvir, Minister of Settlements Orit Strooková and two army officers. According to the Reuters agency, the ICC initially denied this information, and after Smotrič’s announcement on Tuesday, he refused further comment.
Smotrič and Ben Gvir are among the most radical ministers in Netanyahu’s cabinet, among other things they have repeatedly called for the full annexation of the West Bank by the Jewish state. Several European countries have previously banned them from entering their territory on the grounds that they incite ethnic cleansing.
