Middle East Monitor / March 21, 2023
The European Union expressed deep regret on Monday over remarks made by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich during a Jewish community event in France. Echoing the words of former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, far-right extremist Smotrich claimed that there is “no such thing as Palestinians” and they are a “fictitious nation invented only to battle against the Zionist movement.”
According to the EU office in Jerusalem, Smotrich’s remarks were “wrong, disrespectful, dangerous and counterproductive in an already very tense situation.” Speaking to WAFA, the EU statement insisted that such remarks “cannot be tolerated.”
The EU called on the Israeli government to disassociate itself from such statements and to work with all concerned parties to defuse tension.
Meanwhile, the EU expressed its grave concern over the escalating violence on the ground in occupied Palestine, calling for necessary measures to decrease the escalation. The bloc continues to back the discredited two-state “solution”. It said that it is still committed to the creation of an independent and sovereign Palestinian State living side by side in peace and security with Israel.
