Bezalel Smotrich, Israel\u2019s hard-line finance minister, said on Tuesday that he had ordered the eviction of Palestinian residents of a West Bank hamlet after learning that the International Criminal Court prosecutor had requested a warrant for his arrest.<\/p>\n
The court has not announced any such move against Mr. Smotrich and declined to comment on his claim. Nevertheless, Mr. Smotrich vowed that he would press forward with his aim to make Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank \u201cirreversible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the face of a declaration of war, we will respond forcefully,\u201d he said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Mr. Smotrich said he had been informed that the office of Karim Khan, the I.C.C.\u2019s chief prosecutor, had requested a warrant for his arrest, though he did not specify on what charges. Mr. Smotrich did not respond to questions as to how he knew that prosecutors had requested a warrant for his arrest.<\/p>\n
For an I.C.C. arrest warrant to be issued, Mr. Khan\u2019s office must first ask the court\u2019s judges to sign off on the request. Requests for warrants and warrants alike are often kept secret so as to raise the chances of their targets being detained when they travel internationally.<\/p>\n
An I.C.C. spokeswoman denied in a written statement that the court had issued any new warrants, but did not address whether prosecutors had asked for one for Mr. Smotrich.<\/p>\n
If the warrant is confirmed, Mr. Smotrich would be the third Israeli leader to be subject to arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court, which prosecutes the highest violations of international law including war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity.<\/p>\n
The court has already issued arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, and Yoav Gallant, the former Israeli defense minister, on charges of war crimes in Gaza. Both men deny the charges and accuse Mr. Khan of bias and conflicts of interest.<\/p>\n
Mr. Khan himself is currently on leave over accusations of sexual misconduct<\/a> toward an employee which surfaced last year, after he requested the warrants against the two Israeli leaders.<\/p>\n