Israeli far right minister Smotrich says ICC prosecutor seeks his arrest

Israel’s far right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Tuesday he was told the International Criminal Court prosecutor had sought a confidential arrest warrant against him, adding he would retaliate by waging a “war” on the Palestinian Authority

Israel’s far right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Tuesday he was told the International Criminal Court prosecutor had sought a confidential arrest warrant against him, adding he would retaliate by waging a “war” on the Palestinian Authority.

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He said he had ordered the evacuation of the Palestinian Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar in the Israeli-occupied West Bank as part of measures against the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in parts of the West Bank under agreements with Israel.

“The Palestinian Authority has started a war, and it will get a war,” Smotrich told a press conference, reflecting Israeli government anger at what it sees as Palestinian backing for international legal action over the conflict in Gaza.