Israel's extremist minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to order assassinations of senior Palestinian officials and arrest of Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas if the UN Security Council (UNSC) voted to endorse US-drafted resolution referencing the possibility of a future Palestinian state.
"If they accelerate the recognition of this fabricated state, if the UN recognises this, you Mr. Prime Minister, must order targeted assassinations of senior Palestinian Authority officials, who are terrorists in every way, and you… must order the arrest of Abu Mazen (Abbas)," Ben-Gvir said during a press conference at the Knesset hours before Monday’s voting.
Hours after Ben-Gvir's demand, the resolution, brought by Washington, was approved by the 13-member body, backing President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, including the establishment of a transitional administration and an international stabilisation force in the enclave as part of the agreement reached last month that halted two years of war.
The Palestinian Authority condemned the extremist minister.
"The State of Palestine affirms that such systematic incitement reveals a political mentality that rejects peace and threatens regional and international security," the foreign ministry said, calling on states to take "urgent, concrete steps to halt this escalation, activate accountability mechanisms, and reject the use of terroristic language and incitement as tools of governance."
Israeli politicians have been unanimous in rejecting any prospect of Palestinian statehood.
"Our opposition to a Palestinian state on any territory has not changed," Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting on Sunday.
Netanyahu has come under pressure from extremist members of his coalition, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who criticised him for what he called an insufficient response to recent recognitions of Palestinian statehood by Western countries.
"Formulate immediately an appropriate and decisive response that will make it clear to the entire world — no Palestinian state will ever arise on the lands of our homeland," Smotrich wrote on X.
The prime minister dismissed the criticism, saying he did "not need affirmations, tweets or lectures from anyone."
