The prosecutor’s office at the International Criminal Court in The Hague (ICC) reportedly submitted a secret request last month for an arrest warrant against Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, according to Middle East Eye.
The request reportedly concerns suspicions of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed against Palestinians in the West Bank. The charges against Smotrich reportedly include "forcible transfer of population," "transfer of Israeli population to an occupied territory," as well as offenses of "persecution" and "apartheid."
If approved by ICC judges, the arrest warrant would reportedly be the first-ever issued by an international court for the crime of "apartheid."
Middle East Eye reported that last week, an additional hearing examined the possibility of filing requests for arrest warrants against National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and other senior officials. However, no formal requests have been submitted in their cases so far.
A source from the ICC prosecutor’s office did not deny to Middle East Eye that a request exists against Smotrich, but said that under the court’s new procedures, requests for arrest warrants are classified as confidential. The source added that "the prosecutor’s office cannot respond to questions regarding alleged requests for arrest warrants."
Court spokeswoman Oriane Meyer, however, told Reuters on Sunday that the court "denies that new arrest warrants have been issued in the Palestinian case."
The request against Smotrich was reportedly submitted on April 2 but has not yet been approved by ICC judges, and a decision could take months. Since arrest warrants were issued against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Galant in November 2024, Israel and the United States have reportedly exerted heavy pressure on the court, including US sanctions targeting the chief prosecutor, his deputies, and judges involved in the case.
The UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Norway have previously imposed personal sanctions on Smotrich and National Security Minister Ben-Gvir. In the European Union, additional sanctions were considered but blocked due to opposition from several countries, including Germany, Italy, and Hungary.