Israeli authorities believe the International Criminal Court is preparing additional arrest warrants targeting senior Israeli political and military figures over war crimes, Israeli media reported on Tuesday.
In response to these reports, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich rushed to threaten the forcible displacement of a Palestinian Bedouin community in the occupied West Bank, The Jerusalem Post revealed.
This comes after Maariv reported Tuesday that Israeli assessments suggest the ICC could seek warrants against senior Israeli officials, including Smotrich, War Minister Israel Katz, and Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
According to the report, the court is also believed to be considering action against senior Israeli military commanders, including Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and possibly Southern Command chief Yaniv Asor.
The claims followed an earlier report by Haaretz alleging that ICC prosecutors were quietly pursuing arrest warrants against additional Israeli officials. The ICC later denied issuing any new warrants and said reports claiming otherwise were inaccurate.
Smotrich threatens Khan al-Ahmar displacement
Amid the reports, Smotrich announced Tuesday that he would move ahead with the forcible displacement of the Palestinian Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar, located east of occupied al-Quds in the occupied West Bank.
During a press briefing, the far-right minister said he would authorize the measure immediately after finishing his remarks.
“Immediately after I finish speaking here, I will sign an order to evacuate Khan al-Ahmar, within my authority as a minister in the Defense Ministry. I promise all our enemies: This is only the beginning,” he said.
Khan al-Ahmar has long been targeted by Israeli occupation authorities seeking to expand settlements surrounding al-Quds and tighten Israeli control over strategic corridors in the occupied West Bank. Palestinians and international human rights groups have repeatedly warned that the demolition of the village and expulsion of its residents would amount to a violation of international law.
ICC warrants over Gaza genocide
The ICC previously issued arrest warrants in 2024 against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former War Minister Yoav Gallant after the court said there were reasonable grounds to believe they bore responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity linked to the Gaza genocide.
The move marked an unprecedented escalation in international legal pressure on Israeli leadership over the war in Gaza and policies carried out in the occupied Palestinian territories.
History of inflammatory rhetoric
Smotrich has repeatedly faced condemnation over statements targeting Palestinians and advocating hardline settlement policies.
In 2023, he called for the Palestinian town of Huwara in the occupied West Bank to be “wiped out” following settler attacks on the area, comments that sparked international backlash. He has also denied the existence of a Palestinian people and endorsed what he described as the “voluntary migration” of Palestinians from Gaza, a rhetoric critics say amounts to advocacy for ethnic cleansing.
The Israeli minister has consistently promoted settlement expansion while openly opposing the creation of a Palestinian state, portraying the colonization of occupied Palestinian land as a means of permanently blocking Palestinian sovereignty.
Source:Websites
