The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued a secret request for an arrest warrant against Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Middle East Eye reported on Monday.
Two sources familiar with the matter told ynet the report was credible and said the website is considered close to the ICC prosecutor’s office and Qatar.
According to the report, a request for an arrest warrant against Smotrich has already been filed. The prosecutor’s office is also discussing possible similar requests against other Israeli officials, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, Defense Minister Israel Katz and senior military officers, including IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir. No decision has been made in those cases, and discussions are focused on the evidence.
Middle East Eye further reported that the allegations against Smotrich include forced displacement as a crime against humanity, the transfer of Israel's own population as a war crime, and persecution and apartheid as crimes against humanity.
If approved by the ICC, the arrest warrant against the finance minister would be the first ever issued by an international tribunal for the crime of apartheid.
The report also said the Palestinian mission to The Hague sent a letter to the court’s deputy prosecutors, allegedly submitting evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity by settlers and Israeli forces. The letter also said Israel had failed to prosecute those involved in the alleged crimes.
“The urgency to take action now cannot be overstated in any way, with the erasure and the destruction of the Palestinian people, as manifested by an illegal occupant, materializing by the day,” the Palestinian delegation wrote.
Reports on Sunday indicated that the ICC could seek arrest warrants for five senior Israeli officials, including ministers and senior military officers. In an official response, the court said a report claiming new warrants had already been issued was “not accurate” and specifically denied issuing new arrest warrants against Israelis.
The Foreign Ministry has informed Ben-Gvir, one of the officials whose name has previously been linked to possible warrants, that such a request had been filed.
ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan had previously pushed for arrest warrants against Ben-Gvir and Smotrich. The names of Katz, former IDF chief Herzi Halevi and current chief Zamir have also been mentioned.
Before Khan stepped aside, the court had been investigating the funding of West Bank settlements and the supply of weapons to settlers. The official overseeing the investigation is Abdoulaye Seye of Senegal, who is not considered friendly to Israel and is seeking to become an ICC judge. Khan’s replacement, Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan, decided to file the request, according to officials.
Unlike the public warrants issued against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant, the ICC can issue sealed warrants, including when it does not want suspects to know they are wanted and take precautions to avoid arrest. If new warrants are issued, they could be secret.