(MENAFN) Israel’s hardline security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has asserted that “the Palestinian people do not exist” just days before the UN Security Council is set to vote on advancing the next phase of the US-brokered peace initiative for Gaza.

The Security Council is scheduled to vote on Monday regarding a resolution drafted by the United States and supported by several Arab and Muslim nations.

These countries have stated that the proposal “offers a pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood.”

In an extensive post on X on Saturday, Ben-Gvir, who also heads the ultranationalist Otzma Yehudit party, claimed that “there is no such thing as ‘Palestinian people,’” arguing that the community was “an invention without any historical, archaeological, or factual basis.”

He further asserted that “the collection of immigrants from Arab countries to the Land of Israel does not constitute a nation, and they certainly do not deserve a reward for the terrorism, murder, and atrocities they have spread everywhere, especially in Gaza,” adding that the only “real” solution to the conflict was “encouraging voluntary emigration.”

Echoing similar sentiments, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “make it clear to the entire world” that a Palestinian state “will never be established.”

Despite these claims, the State of Palestine is recognized by 157 nations, including four of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

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