Palestinian MFA demands ICC arrest warrant for Ben-Gvir

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen Net
14 May 2023 12:06
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The Palestinian MFA denounces Occupation police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's calling on the Israeli government to increase assassinations against Palestinians in the West Bank.

Israeli Police Minister Itamar Ben Gvir speaks at a military cemetery ceremony during a ceremony to mark the country's Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and victims of militant attacks, in Beersheba, Israel, Tuesday, April 25, 2023. (AP)

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the statements made by the Israeli Occupation's Police Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, "who beats the drums of war and sheds Palestinian blood and is proud of that."

The statement said Ben-Gvir has continuously urged "for more assassinations in the West Bank," and called for "launching a bloody aggression there, as the one that happened in the Gaza Strip."

The ministry considered these positions "a license to kill Palestinian citizens and a call for an unjustified military escalation, which reflects an expansionist colonial mentality to perpetuate the creeping gradual annexation of the West Bank, and an attempt to break the steadfastness and self-defense of the Palestinian people."

Moreover, the statement added that "the calls of the racist fascist Ben-Gvir are calls for deepening ethnic cleansing and killing the largest number of citizens in the West Bank, in preparation for replacing them with settlers."

The Ministry called on states and the international community to "declare an explicit position regarding this fascist minister by boycotting and prosecuting him." In that context, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had also called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue an arrest warrant against Ben-Gvir.

It is worth noting that following the ceasefire announcement on Saturday evening, Ben-Gvir called for "the next [Israeli military] operation to be in the West Bank."

Ben-Gvir sets West Bank 'operation' as condition for cabinet return

Days earlier, on May 7, Israeli media reported that Ben-Gvir had set demands for Israeli Occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in exchange for his return to attend government meetings and Knesset sessions.

Michael Shemesh, a political affairs correspondent for Israeli channel KAN, pointed out that Ben-Gvir's first demand is "a military operation" in the occupied West Bank as a condition for his return to the government and the Knesset.

The Israeli correspondent said Ben-Gvir also called for tightening the noose on Palestinian prisoners and taking more decisive measures in some parts of the judicial overhaul.