Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir attacked the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday and vowed to continue escalating measures against Palestinians, following reports that the court is considering issuing an international arrest warrant against him.
Earlier on Monday, British news website Middle East Eye reported that a request had been submitted to the ICC seeking a secret arrest warrant for Ben-Gvir and Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
The website did not identify the party that submitted the request. Neither the ICC nor the Israeli government had issued an official comment as of 20:00 GMT.
In a statement, Ben-Gvir said: “I am not afraid and I will not back down. No order from The Hague will stop me from continuing to lead an aggressive policy against terrorists.”
He claimed the court was “protecting terrorists and trying to restrict Israel”, adding: “I will continue to fully support Israeli fighters and act firmly for the security of our citizens. I will not apologise and I will not stop.”
