The National / March 21, 2023
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation says hate speech and violence should be confronted.
The UAE has condemned a comment by Israeli Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich, in which he denied the existence of the Palestinian people.
Mr Smotrich provoked fury when he said there was no Palestinian history or culture and used a flag depicting expanded Israeli borders that incorporated Jordan and the Palestinian territories.
This prompted Amman to summon Israel’s ambassador to Jordan, Eitan Sorkis, to receive a rebuke.
“There are no Palestinians, because there isn’t a Palestinian people,” Mr Smotrich said on Sunday in Paris.
He was quoting French-Israeli Zionist activist Jacques Kupfer, according to a video circulating on social media.
The UAE condemned the statement, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation saying the UAE “rejected the incitement rhetoric and all practices that contradict moral and human values and principles”.
The ministry said hate speech and violence should be confronted and values of tolerance and human coexistence should be promoted to reduce escalation and instability in the region.
It said regional and international efforts to advance the peace process in the Middle East should be supported and illegal practices that threaten the two-state solution and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state should be brought to an end.
Jordan has been assured that the comments did not represent Israel’s position, an official source said on Tuesday.
The source told Reuters that top Israeli officials said they rejected Mr Smotrich’s comments and that they respected Jordan’s borders and the peace treaty with the kingdom.
‘Racist ideology’
On Monday, Jordanian Foreign Ministry spokesman Sinan Al Majali said Mr Sorkis was told to relay to his government “a strong-worded letter of protest” from the kingdom.
The two countries signed a peace treaty in 1994.
“The ambassador was told of the need of his government to take a frank and clear position regarding these extremist and provocative statements,” Mr Al Majali said.
He said Mr Smotrich’s remarks constituted “a dangerous escalation that threatens security and stability” and “racist, extremist ideology”.
An earlier statement by the ministry said Mr Smotrich’s use of the map with expanded borders may be a breach of the peace treaty between Israel and Jordan.
A representative for Mr Smotrich, head of one of the religious-nationalist parties in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-right coalition, said the flag was a set decoration by the conference organizers and that the minister was a guest.
In his speech, evoking biblical “prophecies” that are “beginning to come true,” Mr Smotrich said: “After 2,000 years … God is gathering his people. The people of Israel are returning home.”
“There are Arabs around who don’t like it, so what do they do? They invent a fictitious people and claim fictitious rights to the land of Israel, only to fight the Zionist movement,” he said.
“It is the historical truth, it is the biblical truth,” he added.
“The Arabs in Israel must hear it, as well as certain Jews in Israel who are confused — this truth must be heard here at the Elysee Palace, and at the White House in Washington, and everyone must hear this truth.”
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh condemned Mr Smotrich’s remarks, saying they amounted to incitement to violence.
A separate statement by the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said that by denying the existence of the Palestinian people and their legitimate national rights in their homeland, Israeli leaders “foster an environment that fuels Jewish extremism and terrorism against our people.”
Such positions “continue the spiral of violence with the aim of sabotaging efforts to achieve calm.”
Mr Smotrich’s comments came as Israeli and Palestinian representatives met in the Red Sea resort of Sharm al-Sheikh along with Egyptian, Jordanian and US officials for “extensive discussions on ways to de-escalate tensions between the Palestinians and Israelis”, according to a joint statement.
It is not the first time Mr Smotrich has caused controversy with comments aimed at the Palestinian people. Earlier in March, he called for the Palestinian town of Hawara to be “erased” — a statement later condemned by Mr Netanyahu as “inappropriate”.
He was consequently boycotted on a US trip by prominent Jewish figures, despite issuing an apology.
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Jordan says Israeli minister’s comments undermine peace efforts
Amir Mostafa
The National / March 21, 2023
Israel’s finance minister Bezalel Smotrich stirred controversy on Monday when he said there was ‘no such thing’ as the Palestinian people.
Undermining the two-state solution will lead to violence and an explosion of ongoing conflict, Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi said during a press conference on Tuesday, after Israel’s finance minister claimed there was “no such thing” as a Palestinian people.
Mr Al-Safadi said in televised statements that remarks the Israeli Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich, in which he denied the existence of the Palestinian people and used ]a flag depicting expanded Israeli borders that incorporated Jordan and the Palestinian territories were provocative and “exclusionary”.
He said the actions “will not undermine us, nor the rights of the Palestinian people.”
“The right of existence of the Palestinian people is not cancelled by extremists statements,” Mr Al-Safadi said, calling for the revival of the two-state solution to achieve Israeli-Palestinian peace.
Jordan and Israeli signed a peace treaty in 1994.
The region will not enjoy peace unless the Israeli occupation is over,” Mr Al-Safadi said.
“Killing the two-state solution will ingrain racial separation (in Palestine)and lead to more tension,” he said.
The comments by Mr Smotrich prompted Jordan on Monday to summon Israel’s ambassador to Jordan, Eitan Sorkis, to receive a rebuke.
“There are no Palestinians, because there isn’t a Palestinian people,” Mr Smotrich said on Sunday in Paris.
He was quoting French-Israeli Zionist activist Jacques Kupfer, according to a video circulating on social media.
The UAE has also condemned the statement.
The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation said the UAE “rejected the incitement rhetoric and all practices that contradict moral and human values and principles”.
