JERUSALEM: Israel’s controversial far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said on Tuesday police had arrested a Palestinian who planned to assassinate him.
A statement from his office said the man, who was not identified, was arrested several weeks ago.
“The Arab suspect, a Jerusalem resident, who was planning to assassinate National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, was arrested a few weeks ago by police in cooperation with Shin Bet, the internal security service,” the statement said.
Ben-Gvir, who heads the Jewish Power party, has a history of inflammatory remarks about Palestinians.
The statement came after an upsurge of deadly violence in the occupied West Bank, where he lives.
Dozens of settlers went on the rampage in the northern West Bank overnight Sunday-Monday after two Israeli brothers were shot dead as they drove through the town of Huwara.
Ben-Gvir was appointed to his key security post in the new government sworn in on December 29 and led by Israel’s veteran Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Ben-Gvir advocates the annexation by Israel of the West Bank and the transfer to neighboring countries of some of the Israeli Arabs, descendants of Palestinians who stayed on their land after Israel’s creation in 1948.
Ben-Gvir has also been pushing a controversial bill on the death penalty for those convicted of “terrorist” attacks that cost the lives of Israelis.
The statement said the suspect allegedly gathered information on the minister’s movements and received funds from “terrorist elements from a neighboring state,” which was not named.
Ben-Gvir was once deemed a pariah in Israel’s political arena.
In his youth, he was charged more than 50 times for incitement to violence or hate speech.
Now one of the most prominent figures in Israeli politics, the father-of-six lives in a radical settlement in the West Bank and frequently appears at scenes of tension in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israel minister says Palestinian planned to kill him
https://arab.news/zggsj
Israel minister says Palestinian planned to kill him
- Ben-Gvir, who heads the Jewish Power party, has a history of inflammatory remarks about Palestinians
Israel PM holds coalition meeting after objecting to Gaza panel
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a meeting of his ruling coalition partners on Sunday after objecting to the composition of a Gaza advisory panel
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a meeting of his ruling coalition partners on Sunday after objecting to the composition of a Gaza advisory panel formed by the White House, according to an official and media reports.
The White House announced this week the setting up of a “Gaza Executive Board,” which would operate under a broader “Board of Peace” to be chaired by US President Donald Trump as part of his 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza.
The executive board, described as having an advisory role, includes Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Qatari diplomat Ali Al-Thawadi, alongside other regional and international officials.
Late on Saturday, Netanyahu’s office objected to the composition of the executive board.
“The announcement regarding the composition of the Gaza Executive Board, which is subordinate to the Board of Peace, was not coordinated with Israel and runs contrary to its policy,” the office of Netanyahu said.
“The Prime Minister has instructed the Foreign Affairs Minister to contact the US Secretary of State on this matter.”
It did not explain the reason for its objection, but Israel has previously objected strongly to any Turkish role in post-war Gaza, with relations between the two countries deteriorating sharply since the war began in October 2023.
In addition to naming Turkiye’s foreign minister to the executive board, Trump has also invited Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to join the overarching Board of Peace.
Media reports said that leaders of the country’s ruling coalition were scheduled to meet on Sunday to examine the composition of the executive board.
“There is a meeting scheduled of the coalition at 10:00 am (0800 GMT),” the spokesman of Netanyahu’s Likud Party told AFP, declining to provide further details.
Alongside Likud, the coalition includes the Religious Zionist Party led by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) led by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.
The White House said Trump’s plan would include three bodies: the Board of Peace, chaired by Trump; a Palestinian committee of technocrats tasked with governing Gaza; and the Gaza Executive Board, which would play an advisory role.
The Palestinian technocratic committee held its first meeting in Cairo on Saturday.
The diplomatic developments came as the United States said this week that the Gaza truce plan had entered a second phase, shifting from implementing a ceasefire to the disarmament of Hamas, whose October 7, 2023 attack on Israel triggered the Israeli offensive in Gaza.
