Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s finance minister, caused a stir on Sunday. Speaking at an event in Paris, the far-right politician said that “there is no such thing as a Palestinian because there is no such thing as a Palestinian people”. This was just “made up by some Arabs in the region to fight the Zionist movement”.
“There is no Palestinian history. There is no Palestinian language,” Smotrich said in the Hebrew address. He added that people like him and his grandparents are the “real Palestinians” and pointed out that his family has lived in the region for 13 generations. Former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir made a similar statement decades ago.
Counter from Palestine: “Racist, fascist and extremist”
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry called Smotrich’s inflammatory comments “racist, fascist and extremist” and called for further escalation in the region.
Smotrich has caused outrage before
Smotrich recently caused international outrage with statements about the small Palestinian town of Huwara. After a deadly attack on Israelis, the far-right politician demanded that the state “clear” the place. He later distanced himself from these statements. A central road runs through Huwara and is used daily by many Israeli settlers in the northern West Bank.
Israel captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1967. Today, more than 600,000 Israeli settlers live there. The Palestinians claim the territories for an independent state of Palestine with the Arab-influenced eastern part of Jerusalem as its capital.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
