According to a diplomatic source, warrants were also sought for far-right Minister Orit Strock and two military officials. The International Criminal Court in The Hague previously issued warrants for Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant
The International Criminal Court’s top prosecutor has requested sealed arrest warrants issued for Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, a source told Haaretz. A diplomatic source said three more warrants would target Minister Orit Strock and two IDF officials.
A source who works at the court later said that the investigation is likely focused on settler violence, the government’s policy regarding the transfer of Jewish civilians into occupied territory as a war crime and apartheid as a crime against humanity.
The development adds to previously known warrants issued in November 2024 for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and follows earlier reporting that prosecutors had considered pursuing cases involving ministers Smotrich and Ben-Gvir.
Eliav Lieblich, professor of public international law at Tel Aviv University, said that the Rome Statute (the international treaty that established the ICC) does not require the court to notify suspects of the arrest warrant.
“The considerations for publishing the warrants in public, as was done in the cases of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Netanyahu and Gallant, is deterrence. The considerations for secrecy, increasing the chance that the person will reach the place where he will be arrested,” he added that the arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Galant resulted in their “avoidance of visiting places” where they’re at risk for arrest.
Lieblich also said that the ICC’s arrest warrants put a target on the back of the court and its judges, who are currently subject to sanctions by the United States. “This tipped the scales in favor of a policy of not publishing warrants.”
The three judges sitting on the ICC’s pre-trial chamber in the Palestine case are already under U.S. sanctions over the arrest warrants issued against Netanyahu and Gallant, meaning the effect of possible sanctions is unlikely to apply to them in the same way.
The Wall Street Journal reported in May 2025 that the ICC’s Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan planned to issue arrest warrants for the two Israeli ministers. According to the report, Khan was investigating their role in expanding Israeli settlements in the West Bank and whether this violated the Geneva Conventions, which prohibit countries from transferring their populations into territories they have occupied.
Khan has since been temporarily suspended from his position, in light of a complaint against him that he sexually assaulted one of the court’s employees.
Since Hamas’ October 7 Attack, eight countries have banned Ben-Gvir and Smotrich from entering their territories: Slovenia, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, Belgium, Spain and New Zealand.
In addition, in July of last year, the Dutch government blacklisted the ministers and banned them from entering all 29 European countries that are signatories to the Schengen Agreement.
In 2024, the ICC found reasonable grounds to issue arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Galant for committing war crimes in the Gaza Strip. The court determined that they were responsible for mass starvation, murder, persecution and intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population.
The court had rejected Israel’s appeals regarding its authority to intervene in the war in Gaza and ruled that Israel’s consent to recognize its authority was not required to accept the request for arrest warrants.
Haaretz
