National Security Minister Ben Gvir Warns Against UN “Path to Palestinian State” as Israeli Leaders Clash Over Saudi Deal

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir issued a warning today ahead of a scheduled UN Security Council vote that includes language supporting “a path to a Palestinian state,” calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to prevent any international recognition effort and to act directly against Palestinian Authority leadership if the resolution advances.

Speaking at the opening of an Otzma Yehudit faction meeting in the Knesset, Ben Gvir said the renewed push for Palestinian statehood required an unequivocal Israeli response. “In recent days we are seeing the return of talk about establishing a ‘Palestinian’ state. This initiative comes up each time in a different form, and today it may receive an additional push through a proposal being brought to the UN Security Council that includes the phrase ‘a path to a Palestinian state,’” he said.

Ben Gvir argued that a “‘Palestinian’ state — for the invented people who call themselves ‘Palestinians’ — must never be established, because the aim of those seeking such a state is to build it on the ruins of the State of Israel,” he said, adding that “those who carried out the October 7 massacre seek a Palestinian state… and those who today pay salaries to terrorists, name squares in Ramallah after arch-murderers of Jews, and deny the Holocaust, also seek a Palestinian state.”

He then urged the prime minister to act if the UN proceeds. “Mahmoud Abbas and his terrorist associates must know they have no immunity. If they accelerate recognition of this Palestinian terror state and the UN recognizes a Palestinian state, there must be orders for targeted killings of senior Palestinian Authority officials — terrorists in every respect — as well as an order for the arrest of Mahmoud Abbas. There is a cell ready for him in Ketziot Prison,” he said.

The UN resolution under consideration endorses US President Donald Trump’s comprehensive Gaza ceasefire plan. The proposal outlines a multi-stage transition in Gaza, including verified demilitarization prior to any IDF withdrawal, coordination with the United States and regional Arab states, and the establishment of an International Stabilization Force and an apolitical Palestinian administration overseen by a Trump-chaired “Board of Peace.” The draft text states that if Gaza is demilitarized and the Palestinian Authority undertakes “faithful” reforms, a pathway toward Palestinian statehood may be considered.

Ben Gvir’s comments triggered reactions from opposition leaders, who accused Netanyahu of pursuing dangerous arrangements behind the scenes.

Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman claimed the UN proposal “came in coordination with Netanyahu. This whole initiative is an indirect path to a coalition deal. Netanyahu understands that within the coalition he cannot pass a decision about a Palestinian state,” he said.

Liberman warned that advancing such a decision through the Security Council would be “extremely severe,” adding that “in exchange for normalization he is prepared to carry out a liquidation sale of the state’s security.” He also cautioned that selling F-35 aircraft to Saudi Arabia and Turkey would be “a dramatic change in the balance of power in the Middle East.”

Former defense minister Benny Gantz also criticized proposal. “Any deal with Saudi Arabia must preserve the agreement I signed with the Pentagon in 2020 that guarantees Israel’s security superiority,” he said. “A deal in which Israel gives up its security advantage in the Middle East and its strategic alliance with the United States is a bad deal that must be rejected.”

Gantz said maintaining Israel’s qualitative military edge is essential for future regional challenges. “It is what enables us to survive in the region… what allowed us to strike Iran and will allow us to do so again. Israel’s security must not be compromised by even a nanometer,” he said.