Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is the leading enemy challenging Israel's existence, said Yuval Steinitz, Israeli National Infrastructure, Energy and Water minister, on Thursday, according to Jerusalem Post. 

In an interview with Israel Radio, Steinitz said that Abbas and the Palestinian Authority seek the destruction of Israel. 

The minister from Israel's leading Likud party charged that Abbas is more hostile toward Israel than his predecessor Yasser Arafat.

Steinitz made the remarks the day after Abbas reiterated his demand that Israel must recognize a Palestinian state.

In a speech to the Fatah Congress in Ramallah, Abbas stressed that he would not recognize Israel as a Jewish state, despite the PLO's formal recognition of Israel's right to exist in the 1993 Oslo Accords. 

"Abu Mazen [Abbas] is talking about desisting from recognizing Israel, but he will never really recognize [Israel's] right to exist or the right for the self-determination of a Jewish homeland," Steinitz said. 

“Let's not kid ourselves. From an ideological perspective, Abbas is the number one enemy of the very existence of Israel, even more so than Arafat,” he asserted.

Source: MENA