South Korea questions Netanyahu warrant

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich pushed the International Criminal Court back into day-to-day politics this week, from Seoul to the occupied West Bank. Lee said on May 20 that Israel had detained South Korean nationals in international waters and told officials to consider how Seoul should respond to the court’s warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Smotrich said a day earlier that ICC prosecutor Karim Khan had sought a confidential warrant against him and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, then announced steps to clear the Palestinian village of Khan al-Ahmar. The episode matters because the Netanyahu warrant is no longer only a legal dispute between Israel and The Hague. (usnews.com) It is now surfacing in the public statements of a new South Korean president and in the political messaging of Israeli ministers who say they may be next. ### Why is South Korea talking about an ICC warrant now? Lee spoke after Israeli forces intercepted a Gaza-bound aid flotilla carrying South Korean activists, according to Reuters, the Jerusalem Post and South Korean media reports. (usnews.com) He called the detentions “way out of line” and questioned the legal basis for stopping a vessel in international waters. (icc-cpi.int) South Korean reports said Lee went further in a cabinet meeting, asking officials to review whether Seoul should consider the ICC warrant against Netanyahu. The ICC issued that warrant on Nov. 21, 2024, when judges also issued one for former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant after rejecting Israel’s jurisdictional challenges. (usnews.com) ### What exactly has the ICC already done to Netanyahu? The Hague court said in November 2024 that its judges had issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant in the Palestine situation. The court said the chamber found reasonable grounds to believe the two men bore criminal responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity tied to the Gaza war. (koreajoongangdaily.joins.com) Israel is not a member of the ICC and rejects the court’s jurisdiction, but the court says it has jurisdiction over crimes committed on the territory of Palestine, which joined the Rome Statute system in 2015. That legal framework is why third countries are periodically pressed on whether they would act if a wanted Israeli official entered their territory. (icc-cpi.int) ### What did Smotrich say happened to him and Ben-Gvir? Smotrich said on May 19 that he had been told the prosecutor submitted a secret request for an international arrest warrant against him. Reuters reported that he said Ben-Gvir was also targeted. The ICC itself has denied media reports that it had issued new warrants against additional Israeli officials, calling such claims inaccurate, according to a report published this week. (icc-cpi.int) That leaves a narrower public record: Smotrich says a confidential prosecutorial request exists, but no public ICC filing or judicial decision has confirmed new warrants for him or Ben-Gvir. (usnews.com) ### Why did Khan al-Ahmar enter the story? Khan al-Ahmar, a Bedouin village east of Jerusalem, became part of the same news cycle when Smotrich said Israel would respond by advancing its long-threatened removal. JTA and other outlets reported that he announced he would retaliate by clearing Palestinians from the village. (globalbankingandfinance.com) The village has long been a flashpoint because demolition plans have drawn repeated international criticism and legal challenges. In this case, the significance is chronological and explicit: Smotrich linked his announcement to what he said was ICC action against him. ### What happens next in practical terms? Any formal next move would come from the ICC, not from the politicians now invoking it. (forward.com) Prosecutors can ask judges for warrants, but only judges issue them, and the court has already shown in the Netanyahu case that it can publish decisions after sealed proceedings. For Seoul, the immediate next step is diplomatic rather than judicial: Lee has publicly raised the question inside government after the flotilla seizure. (timesofisrael.com) For Israel, the next concrete marker would be whether the ICC confirms any filing involving Smotrich or Ben-Gvir, or whether Israeli authorities carry out the threatened eviction at Khan al-Ahmar. (koreajoongangdaily.joins.com) (icc-cpi.int)