Bezalel Smotrich said the International Criminal Court prosecutor requested an arrest warrant for him after actions described as illegal forced expulsion of thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank. He said he would “fight back” by ordering the forcible eviction of hundreds more Palestinians from their homes. Smotrich stated he was informed that the prosecutor secretly requested the warrant in April, while no formal warrant had been announced and charges had not been publicized. Reporting previously indicated the prosecutor considered seeking a warrant over Smotrich’s role in expanding Israeli settlements, which the International Court of Justice ruled in July 2024 violated the Geneva Conventions due to forced removal. The ICC has also issued arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant for Gaza, and a warrant was being prepared for Itamar Ben-Gvir.
"Israel's far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, said on Tuesday that the International Criminal Court prosecutor had requested an arrest warrant against him, reportedly in response to his illegal forced expulsion of thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank. He said he planned to "fight back" by issuing an order to forcibly evict hundreds more Palestinians from their homes in the West Bank."
"During a news conference, Smotrich said he'd been informed Monday evening that the ICC prosecutor had secretly requested a warrant for his arrest in April. A formal warrant has not been announced by the court, and the official charges have not yet been publicized."
"The Wall Street Journal reported last year that the prosecutor had been considering seeking an arrest warrant against Smotrich for his role in expanding Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in July 2024 was a violation of the Geneva Conventions because it entailed the forced removal of residents in the occupied Palestinian territories."
"Already, the ICC has issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Smotrich just announced the official ethnic cleansing of a Palestinian village in response to the ICC warrant for his arrest."
#international-criminal-court #west-bank-settlements #forced-displacement #war-crimes-allegations #israeli-palestinian-conflict
Read at Truthout
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]