The International Criminal Court (ICC) has prepared arrest warrant applications against Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, for perpetuating apartheid in the occupied West Bank.
According to Middle East Eye, these applications, finalized by ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan before his leave in May 2024, mark a historic move to charge apartheid as a crime against humanity at an international court
The allegations stem from Israel’s systematic policies of oppression, including settlement expansion, which legal scholars and rights groups like Human Rights Watch and B’Tselem have long condemned as apartheid.
Despite the applications being ready, they remain unsubmitted, held by deputy prosecutors Nazhat Shameem Khan and Mame Mandiaye Niang.
Sources within the ICC express concern that fear of U.S. sanctions, already imposed on Khan and four ICC judges, is stalling the process.
"Justice delayed is justice denied," said Raji Sourani, a lawyer representing Palestine at the ICC, criticizing the hesitation.
The U.S. sanctioned Khan in February 2025 and later targeted judges who approved warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
Threats from figures like former UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron and U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham further underscore the external pressures undermining the ICC’s pursuit of accountability.
The applications highlight Israel’s crimes in the West Bank, where settlement expansion and policies of racial segregation have drawn global condemnation.
The International Court of Justice’s July 2024 ruling declared Israel’s occupation illegal, citing its “near-complete separation” of Palestinians as a breach of international law.
Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, key figures in Israel’s far-right government, have been sanctioned by countries like the UK and Canada for inciting violence against Palestinians.
If the ICC applications are shelved, sources fear a critical opportunity to address Israel’s apartheid regime will be lost, perpetuating impunity for systemic human rights violations.