Ben Gvir says Israel must arrest Abbas and kill PA officials if Palestinian state recognised

Israel's National Secruity Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has called for the arrest of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas if the United Nations recognises Palestinian statehood.

He also called for Israel to assassinate senior Palestinian Authority (PA) officials, who he labelled "terrorists."

"Orders must be given for targeted killings of senior Palestinian Authority officials—who are terrorists in every respect—as well as an order for the arrest of Abu Mazen," Ben Gvir posted on X, using an honourific name for Abbas.

He also said that a special solitary confinement cell at Ketziot Prison had already been prepared for Abbas.

His comments come ahead of a the UN Security Council vote on Monday on a US resolution endorsing the Gaza peace plan, which make reference to a "credible pathway" to Palestinian statehood.

On Sunday, Kan News reported that Benjamin Netanyahu’s government was engaged in a last-minute diplomatic push to alter the draft resolution to remove the references to statehood.

The draft currently says “conditions may be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood” following reforms to the PA and Gaza redevelopment.

The National Commission for Palestinian Popular Action issued a forceful statement on Sunday rejecting US proposals to place Gaza under an externally imposed transitional administration, warning that such a move amounts to "a new colonialism".

The commission said any attempt to install a governing body "outside the will of the Palestinian people" violates their right to self-determination and seeks to repackage old forms of domination "under updated labels".

It stressed that decisions about Gaza’s future must come from Palestinians themselves and safeguard the unity of the land, the legitimacy of resistance to the Israeli occupation, and the "right to freedom, resistance, and self-determination" guaranteed under international law.