The Palestinian Authority Chairman's Office on Monday night stated that it will hold the Israeli government fully responsible for what it described as incitement by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, following remarks in which he called for the arrest of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and the assassination of senior PA officials if the UN recognizes Palestinian statehood.
According to the statement, the office viewed Ben-Gvir’s comments as an explicit call to harm the PA chairman and members of the PA leadership. It issued a strong condemnation and rejected what it termed “dangerous incitement” that, in its view, encourages murder and invites Israeli civilians to carry out further attacks against Palestinian Arabs, their land, and holy sites.
The Presidency also called on the US administration and the international community to place pressure on the Israeli government to halt what it described as an incitement campaign that would lead only to increased violence and tension, further undermining efforts to revive the peace process.
Ben-Gvir made his remarks earlier Monday at the start of his Otzma Yehudit faction meeting, addressing a UN Security Council proposal that includes the phrase “a path to a Palestinian state.” He argued that the initiative reappears in various forms and is being pushed forward once again.
Ben-Gvir said that those promoting diplomatic moves toward Palestinian statehood are the same actors who support terrorism. He referred to a Palestinian state as an initiative for a “fabricated people,” claiming that its promoters intend to build it “upon the ruins of the State of Israel.” He further argued that the perpetrators of the October 7th massacre, those who pay salaries to terrorists, and those who deny the Holocaust all share the aim of establishing such a state.
Calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to act against the Palestinian Authority leadership, Ben-Gvir said that Abbas “and his terrorist associates” should not enjoy immunity. He added that if the UN moves toward recognition of a Palestinian state, Israel should respond with targeted actions against senior PA officials and order the arrest of Abbas, claiming there is already a prison cell prepared for him at Ktzi'ot Prison.