Two more Israeli ministers in line for ICC warrants after Netanyahu, Gallant
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich are in line for the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant on charges of apartheid
The Hague: Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich are in line for the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant on charges of apartheid, a media report said.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) had in November 2024 issued arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on charges of war crimes and for crimes against humanity.
But, the ICC has prepared arrest warrants against Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich on charges of apartheid. If the warrants for National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich are issued, it will be the first time that the crime of apartheid is charged at an international court, Middle East Eye reported.
"Those applications for the arrest warrants are completely done. The only thing that didn't happen was submitting them to the court," the source said on condition of anonymity", Middle East Eye reported citing unnamed ICC sources.
Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich are two Israeli ministers publicly claiming the massacre and killing of Palestinians in Gaza. Bezalel Smotrich has only two days ago sanctioned around 3,000 illegal settlements in West Bank.
The Middle East Eye in its report said ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan had prepared cases against Ben Gvir and Smotrich before he went on leave in May. This has also been reported by multiple media reports, including The Times of Israel, in May.
But, what is significant in the Middle East Eye report is the fear that the arrest warrant application against Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich will be quietly shelved as the court faces unprecedented external pressure, including from the Trump administration which announced sanctions against the ICC for issuing warrants against Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant.
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