Israeli minister Smotrich says ICC prosecutor seeking warrant for his arrest

Israeli minister Smotrich says ICC prosecutor seeking warrant for his arrestJust nowShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleYolande Knell,Middle East correspondent, JerusalemandDavid GrittenReutersBezalel Smotrich was among the Israeli nationalists who took part in the Jerusalem Day march last weekFar-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says he has been told the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has requested a "secret" arrest warrant for him.He did not say which accusations he faced. But he described the move as "a declaration of war" and blamed the Palestinian Authority.The process of seeking warrants is confidential and must be approved by ICC judges. The court declined to comment, though it recently denied that warrants had been issued for five Israeli officials.Smotrich - who has wide authority over Israeli policies in the occupied West Bank - responded by ordering the demolition of Khan al-Ahmar, a prominent Palestinian Bedouin village.In 2018, Israel's Supreme Court upheld an eviction order for Khan al-Ahmar, but it has not been enforced after warnings from the UN, the ICC and others that this would violate international law.Last June, the UK and four other Western countries sanctioned Smotrich and another far-right Israeli minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, over what they said were "repeated incitements of violence against Palestinian communities" in the West Bank. The Israeli government said the measures were "outrageous".AFPThe fate of the Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar has been a subject of international concern (file photo)On Sunday, Israel's Haaretz newspaper cited sources as saying that the ICC prosecutor had requested new arrest warrants for five Israeli political and military officials, including Smotrich, for alleged crimes against Palestinians. But a spokesperson for the court at the time told media it "denies the issuance of new arrest warrants in the situation in the State...