Smotrich says ICC sought arrest warrant against him

Bezalel Smotrich said this week that prosecutors at the International Criminal Court had submitted a secret request for his arrest, widening public scrutiny of a case that the court itself has not confirmed. Smotrich made the claim at a May 19 press conference in Jerusalem, according to reports from JNS, the Jewish Chronicle and other outlets. The ICC has not announced any warrant against him. An ICC spokeswoman told Reuters on Sunday that the court denied reports that new arrest warrants had been issued in the Palestine case. The claim surfaced against a backdrop of an already active ICC case involving Israeli leaders. The court said on Nov. 21, 2024 that Pre-Trial Chamber I had issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant after rejecting Israel’s jurisdictional challenges. The chamber said the prosecution had submitted those applications on May 20, 2024. (thejc.com) ### What exactly did Smotrich say? Bezalel Smotrich said on May 19 that “the prosecutor submitted a request for arrest warrants,” according to the Jewish Chronicle’s account of the press conference. He added that Israel did not know whether judges would issue them, saying, “Whether they will actually be issued or not, we do not know.” The Jerusalem Post, citing Middle East Eye, reported that the alleged request was submitted on April 2 and concerned suspected war crimes and crimes against humanity against Palestinians in the West Bank. (icc-cpi.int) That report said the alleged charges included forcible transfer, transfer of Israeli population into occupied territory, persecution and apartheid. ### Has the ICC confirmed any warrant against him? (thejc.com) The International Criminal Court has not publicly confirmed any arrest warrant for Smotrich. Oriane Meyer, an ICC spokeswoman, told Reuters on Sunday that the court “denies that new arrest warrants have been issued in the Palestinian case,” according to JNS and other reports summarizing the Reuters statement. (jpost.com) That distinction matters because an application by prosecutors and an issued warrant are different procedural steps. The ICC’s own Nov. 21, 2024 statement on Netanyahu and Gallant shows that prosecutors first applied for warrants and judges later ruled on them. ### How does this connect to the Netanyahu case? The ICC said on Nov. 21, 2024 that it issued warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant in the Situation in the State of Palestine. (jns.org) The chamber said Israel’s acceptance of the court’s jurisdiction was not required because the court could exercise territorial jurisdiction based on Palestine. The White House, in President Donald Trump’s Feb. 6, 2025 executive order, called those warrants “baseless” and said the ICC had engaged in “illegitimate and baseless actions” targeting the United States and Israel. (icc-cpi.int) The order said neither the United States nor Israel is party to the Rome Statute and directed sanctions authorities against ICC-related conduct. ### What has the Trump administration done to the court? The U.S. government has built a sanctions program aimed at ICC personnel involved in investigations touching U.S. or Israeli nationals. The State Department’s sanctions page lists June 5, July 9, Aug. 20, Sept. 4 and Dec. 18, 2025 actions tied to the ICC. Harvard Law School said in a March 25, 2026 article that the Trump administration had sanctioned at least 11 ICC officials, including nine judges and the chief prosecutor, under the post-February 2025 measures. (whitehouse.gov) That count aligns with broader reporting cited by the Forward. ### What happened around the flotilla comments? JNS reported on May 20 that Smotrich’s claim appeared in a story centered on criticism by Israel’s ambassador in Washington of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir over treatment of flotilla detainees. (state.gov) In that report, Smotrich was described as saying ICC prosecutors had submitted a secret request for a warrant against him. (hls.harvard.edu) The next public step would be any formal ICC announcement or court filing showing whether judges accepted, rejected or have not acted on any reported application involving Smotrich. As of May 21, 2026, the court’s public position is that no new warrants have been issued in the Palestine case. (jns.org)