Jerusalem, 10 August, 2025 (TPS-IL) — National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Sunday vowed to push Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take “immediate” action aimed at “toppling the Palestinian Authority” in response to a report that PA President Mahmoud Abbas is weighing a unilateral declaration of Palestinian statehood in September.
“I will appeal to the Prime Minister with a request to bring immediate operative measures to the next cabinet meeting to dismantle the Palestinian Authority,” Ben-Gvir tweeted. “This must be the response to the terrorist Abu Mazen’s fantasies of a ‘Palestinian state’ – crushing the terror authority he heads.”
According to the London-based al-Araby al-Jadeed, Abbas may unilaterally declare statehood when world leaders gather in New York City for the opening session of the United Nations General Assembly on September 23.
According to the report, Abbas also intends to hold elections for a new Palestinian National Council.
Palestinians have not held national elections since 2005 and Abbas is now in the 20th year of what was supposed to be a four-year term. Since then, Abbas has canceled several attempted elections amid Fatah-Hamas disagreements, most recently in 2021.
Meanwhile, several countries, including France, Canada, and Malta, have announced they intend to recognize a Palestinian state at the UN gathering.
Israel is also reportedly weighing the possibility of cutting security cooperation with Britain if Prime Minister Keir Starmer follows through on his own plan to recognize Palestine ahead of the UN General Assembly meeting.
On Tuesday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar told reporters that these countries’ announcements encouraged Hamas to dig in its heels.
“They gave Hamas free gifts and incentives to continue this war,” Sa’ar said. “They directly assassinated the hostage deal and ceasefire. Let me be clear: these countries prolonged the war.”
On Friday, Israel’s Security Cabinet approved plans to expand the war to Gaza City. It also adopted five principles for ending the war, namely, the disarming of Hamas, the return of living and dead hostages, Gaza’s demilitarization, Israeli security control over the Strip, and the establishment of “an alternative civilian government that is not Hamas or the Palestinian Authority.”
Approximately 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 50 remaining hostages, around 30 are believed to be dead.
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