Israeli minister Bezalel Smotrich, targeted by an arrest warrant issued by the ICC. He threatens to launch “jihad” against the Palestinian Authority

Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Tuesday that he had been informed that the International Criminal Court prosecutor had sought a confidential arrest warrant against him, adding that he would retaliate by launching a “war” against the Palestinian Authority.

Smotrich said he ordered the evacuation of the Palestinian Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar from the Israeli-occupied West Bank as part of measures against the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited autonomy in certain parts of the West Bank under agreements with Israel, Reuters and News.ro report.

“The Palestinian Authority started a war and will get a war,” Bezalel Smotrich told a news conference on Tuesday, reflecting the Israeli government's anger at what it sees as Palestinian support for international legal action on the Gaza conflict.

To that end, Smotrich said he ordered the evacuation of the village of Khan al-Ahmar, using his authority as finance minister and minister in the Ministry of Defense for actions against the Palestinian Authority.

The ICC prosecutor's office declined to comment, citing the confidentiality of the trial. The ICC has previously stated that its prosecutor is independent and impartial when selecting situations to be investigated.

Smotrich did not specify who informed him on Monday evening about this mandate, and the process of issuing the mandates is confidential. He also did not disclose the ICC's reasons.

Describing the Court as “anti-Semitic”, Bezalel Smotrich said he had been informed that the ICC prosecutor had “filed a confidential application for an international arrest warrant” against him.

“As a sovereign and independent state, we will not accept the hypocritical dictates of biased bodies that consistently oppose the State of Israel, our biblical, historical and legal rights in our homeland, and our right and duty to self-defense and security,” Smotrich said.

What is the procedure at the ICC?

Israel is not a member of the International Criminal Court and does not recognize its jurisdiction, but the Palestinian territories were admitted as a member state of the ICC in 2015. This means that, along with a ruling by judges, the Court can examine potential war crimes committed by Hamas fighters in Israel and by Israelis in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Prosecutors can submit a request to judges, which, according to the new rules of the Court, is kept under seal.

Judges must then find that there are reasonable grounds to conclude that a suspect has committed crimes under the jurisdiction of the ICC in order to issue an international arrest warrant.

Bezalel Smotrich, known for his pro-colonization and anti-Palestinian state positions, said attempts “to impose a suicidal security policy through sanctions and arrest warrants will not succeed.”

In November 2024, the ICC issued arrest warrants against 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.

A request for another ICC arrest warrant against a serving Israeli official, if real, could trigger further retaliation against the Court by Israel's main ally, the US.

US opposition to the arrest warrant for Netanyahu has been bipartisan, and under the Trump Administration sanctions have been imposed against 11 ICC judges and prosecutors involved in the “situation in Palestine.”

Britain and four other countries last year imposed sanctions on Smotrich and another far-right Israeli minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, accusing them of repeatedly inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

Smotrich called for the permanent occupation of Gaza and the restoration of Jewish settlements there, which Israel abandoned in 2005, ideas that Netanyahu rejected. He pushed for the expansion of Jewish colonies in the West Bank, calling it part of the “biblical and eternal homeland” of the Jews.

“We are turning the settlement project into something irreversible,” he said. “I'm proud of all of this. Very proud,” Smotrich testified.

The current war in Gaza was triggered by a bloody attack by Hamas militants on October 7, 2023 and intense military retaliation by Israel.