Israeli ministers faced int’l arrest warrants over Judea & Samaria settlements

Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, reportedly was working on drafting arrest warrants against Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, over their promotion of Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor was drafting a case targeting two senior Israeli government ministers and pursuing arrest warrants against them before he was embroiled in a rape scandal which led to his temporarily stepping down, The Wall Street Journal newspaer has reported.

Karim Khan, the British jurist and chief prosecutor who led the ICC’s war crimes case last year against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (Likud) which culminated in the issuance of arrest warrants against both, temporarily stepped down earlier this month, following accusations that he raped a female attorney from Malaysia, after months of sexually harassing her.

Before the scandal went public, however, Khan was working on a new case against senior Israeli leaders, this time laying the groundwork for international arrest warrants targeting Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (Religious Zionist Party) and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir (Otzma Yehudit), current and former ICC officials told the Journal.

According to the officials, Khan sought arrest warrants based on Smotrich and Ben-Gvir’s roles in promoting the expansion of Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria, which the United Nations’ chief judicial organ, the International Court of Justice, ruled in 2024 constitutes a breach of international law.

Smotrich also serves as Minister in the Defense Ministry – managing the ministry’s settlement affairs division – while Ben-Gvir has no formal role in the settlement enterprise, despite being a staunch supporter of expanding the Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria.

It is unclear whether the two deputy prosecutors who have assumed Khan’s responsibilities will move forward with the plans to prosecute the Israeli ministers.

Ben-Gvir issued a statement on Wednesday morning denouncing the planned arrest warrant, adding that he will not be deterred by the ICC.

“I have one clear message for the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague: No arrest warrant, of any kind, will deter me from continuing to act on behalf of the People of Israel and the Land of Israel,” Ben-Gvir said.