Ben-Gvir vows to expand Israeli settlements as ICC prepares arrest warrant
Israeli far-right minister Itamar Ben Gvir has remained defiant and undeterred by reports that the International Criminal Court (ICC) was preparing to issue an arrest warrant against him.
The hawkish minister in remarks on Wednesday vowed to press ahead with the expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
“No arrest warrant of any kind will deter me from continuing to work for the people of Israel and the Land of Israel,” Ben-Gvir wrote on X. “When The Hague is against me, I know I am on the right path.”
A Wall Street Journal report earlier stated that ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan was preparing arrest warrants for Ben Gvir and Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich over their roles in expanding Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
While the ICC declined to comment on the report with regard to Ben-Gvir or Smotrich, it told the newspaper that it had a mandate to investigate crimes committed in the “Palestinian territories,” based on the Palestinian Authority’s 2014 acceptance of the court’s jurisdiction.
Both Ben-Gvir and Smotrich are notorious for making inflammatory statements against Palestinians.
Past comments by both Israeli ministers about the Palestinians have drawn international condemnation. They have also time and again called for the forced expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza and other occupied territories.
The cases against Smotrich and Ben-Gvir were reportedly intended to complement the arrest warrants issued by the court in November against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former minister in charge of military affairs, Yoav Gallant, for war crimes related to the brutal military campaign in Gaza.
Observers say a ruling by the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) declaring Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories illegal also marks a significant milestone as it provides a clear legal framework for addressing the decades-long occupation.
US President Donald Trump, in February, signed an executive order imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court over investigations of Israel.
The order accuses the ICC of engaging in actions targeting America and its close ally, Israel.
Trump’s order also claimed that the ICC’s actions set a dangerous precedent and that this endangers US citizens and military personnel, who committed war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq.
