Ben Gvir urges arrest of Abbas, killing of Palestinian leaders if UN backs Palestinian statehood

Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir on Monday called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to arrest President Mahmoud Abbas and assassinate leaders of the Palestinian Authority if the UN Security Council votes in favour of Palestinian statehood.

"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, Israel's parliament.

The UN Security Council is set to vote Monday on a draft resolution proposed by Washington bolstering US President Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan.

Unlike previous drafts, the latest version mentions the possibility of a future Palestinian state.

The Palestinian Authority strongly condemned Ben Gvir's call for arrests and assassinations.

"The State of Palestine affirms that such systematic incitement reveals a political mentality that rejects peace and threatens regional and international security," the Ramallah-based foreign ministry said in a statement.

It further called on countries 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."

If passed, the resolution would grant the Security Council's blessing for a transitional administration and a temporary international security force in Gaza, ushering in the second phase of the US-brokered deal reached last month, which halted two years of war.

Israel's leadership has been unanimous in rejecting any possibility of a Palestinian state.

"Our opposition to a Palestinian state on any territory has not changed," Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting on Sunday.

Netanyahu has come under criticism from coalition members, including far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who on Saturday accused him of failing to respond to a recent wave of recognition 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 urged Netanyahu on X.

The premier on Sunday said that he did "not need affirmations, tweets or lectures from anyone".