UN official: ICC should seek arrest of Israel’s Smotrich ‘a key mastermind of Israel's genocidal policies’

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, said yesterday she does not understand why the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor has not yet requested an arrest warrant for Israel’s far-right Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich.

The UN Special Rapporteur accused Smotrich of being “a key mastermind of Israel’s genocidal policies against the Palestinians”.

Even considering the significant political pressure on the #ICC, I really don't understand why the ICC Prosecutor has not yet requested an arrest warrant against this man, who is a key mastermind of Israel's genocidal policies against the Palestinians. https://t.co/1JeSvIThTP

— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) June 30, 2024

This came in response to the Israeli cabinet’s approval of Smotrich’s plan to approve five settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank.

“Even considering the significant political pressure on the ICC, I really don’t understand why the ICC Prosecutor has not yet requested an arrest warrant against this man, who is a key mastermind of Israel’s genocidal policies against the Palestinians,” she said in a post on X.

On Thursday, the Israeli Cabinet approved measures proposed by Smotrich, which aim to “legalise” settlement outposts in the West Bank and impose sanctions on the Palestinian Authority (PA).

Settlement outposts are small settlements established by settlers on private Palestinian land without the government approval.

All settlements and outposts are illegal under international law.

On 20 May, the ICC Prosecutor, Karim Khan, announced that he had asked the court to issue international arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, on charges of “war crimes”, “crimes against humanity”, and “genocide” committed since 7 October 2023 against the Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.

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