The Palestinian Authority on Sunday called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue an arrest warrant against National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir for allegedly supporting the targeted killing of Palestinians in the West Bank.
A statement issued by the Palestinian foreign ministry also accused Ben-Gvir of "incitement" for allegedly supporting “a bloody aggression” against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The appeal to the ICC came after Ben-Gvir was quoted by Hebrew-language media as praising the latest Israeli military operation against the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) organization in the Gaza Strip.
PA: Ben-Gvir's remarks a 'license to kill Palestinian citizens'
In an apparent reference to the targeted killing of six senior PIJ military commanders during the Israeli offensive, Ben-Gvir was quoted as saying: “What was in the [military] operation is good and important. The next operation must be in Judea and Samaria.”
The Palestinian ministry denounced Ben-Gvir’s remarks as “a license to kill Palestinian citizens.” It also accused him of calling for “an unjustified military escalation, which reflects an expansionist colonial mentality to perpetuate the gradual annexation of the West Bank.”
The Ramallah-based ministry said that the “racist statements” of 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.”
It further called on the international community to boycott Ben-Gvir and work towards prosecuting him before the ICC.