Israeli far-right minister Smotrich says ICC prosecutor seeks his arrest

JERUSALEM: Bezalel ‌Smotrich, Israel’s far-right finance minister, said on Tuesday he was informed that the prosecutor at the International Criminal Court ​in the Hague has requested a “secret” arrest warrant against him.
Smotrich, speaking at a press conference, did not specify who had informed him of the warrant on Monday evening, and the process of seeking warrants is confidential. He also did not reveal the ICC’s reasons.
The office of the prosecutor ‌at the ‌ICC declined to comment, citing confidentiality ​of ‌the ⁠process.
Prosecutors ​can submit ⁠a confidential application to judges, who have to find there are reasonable grounds to conclude a suspect has committed crimes under the jurisdiction of the ICC in order to approve the application.
Smotrich said he had been told that the court “submitted a secret ⁠request for an international arrest warrant ‌against me.”
The court in ‌November 2024 had issued arrest ​warrants for Israeli Prime ‌Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense chief, Yoav ‌Gallant, as well as a Hamas leader, Ibrahim Al-Masri, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza conflict.
Smotrich called the arrest warrants against Israeli officials “a ‌declaration of war” by the Palestinian Authority, apparently reflecting Israeli government anger at ⁠what it ⁠sees as Palestinian backing for international legal action over the Gaza war.
Britain and four other nations last year 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 called for the permanent conquest of Gaza and re-establishment of Jewish settlements there that Israel abandoned in 2005, notions that Netanyahu has rejected.