Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to prevent Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas from returning to Ramallah and the occupied West Bank following his visit to Turkey.
In a statement carried by Israeli media, Smotrich attacked Abbas over his trip to Ankara, where the Palestinian leader was due to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Smotrich said Abbas’s visit demonstrated what he described as the Palestinian leader’s hostility toward Israel, accusing the Palestinian Authority of supporting and financing attacks against Israelis.
“I call on the prime minister to seize this opportunity and prevent him from returning,” Smotrich said, while also renewing his demand for the Palestinian Authority to be dismantled.
Abbas arrived in the Turkish capital Ankara on Tuesday for a two-day official visit at Erdogan’s invitation.
According to Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency, talks between Abbas and Erdogan were expected to focus on developments in Palestine and the wider region, as well as bilateral relations between Turkey and the Palestinian Authority.
Smotrich, a prominent figure in Israel’s far-right political camp, has repeatedly advocated measures aimed at weakening or dismantling the Palestinian Authority and has opposed moves toward the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.