A fiery Israeli minister claimed there was «no such thing» as a Palestinian people as Israel’s new coalition government, the most intransigent in its history, went ahead on Monday with part of its plan to reform the judiciary.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition said it was pushing through a key part of the reform, which would give the coalition control over who becomes judge or judge, before parliament takes a month-long holiday break next week. .
The development came a day after an Israeli and Palestinian delegation at a meeting in Egypt, mediated by Egyptian, Jordanian and American officials, vowed to take steps to reduce tensions roiling the region ahead of a delicate Christmas season.
It reflected the limited influence the Biden administration appears to have over Israel’s new far-right government and raised questions about attempts to de-escalate tensions, both within Israel and with the Palestinians, ahead of a sensitive Christmas season.
As the negotiators issued a joint statement, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich gave a speech in Paris saying the notion of a Palestinian people was artificial.
“There is no such thing as a Palestinian nation. There is no Palestinian history. There is no Palestinian language,” he said in France on Sunday night. She was speaking at a memorial event for a French-Israeli right-wing activist who denied the existence of a Palestinian nation and advocated the annexation of the West Bank. The lectern was adorned with what appeared to be an image showing a map of Israel including the occupied West Bank, Gaza and Jordan.
Jordan’s foreign ministry said Smotrich’s appearance with the icon was a «reckless arson act and a violation of international norms and the peace treaty» between the two countries.
He later summoned the Israeli ambassador over Smotrich’s comments.
Ahmed Abu Zaid, a spokesman for the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, said the Israeli minister’s comments «deny the facts of history and geography… (and) undermine efforts aimed at achieving calm between the Palestinian and Israeli sides.»
Israel’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement late Monday saying it is committed to the countries’ 1994 peace deal.
«There have been no changes in the position of the State of Israel, which recognizes the territorial integrity of the Hashemite Kingdom,» the statement said.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said Smotrich’s comments were «conclusive proof of the extremist and racist Zionist ideology that governs the parties of the current Israeli government.»
In Brussels, the European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the minister’s comments «certainly cannot be tolerated.»
“I have to deplore this unacceptable comment. It is wrong, it is disrespectful, it is dangerous, it is counterproductive to say this kind of thing in a situation that is already very tense,» Borrell told reporters after chairing a meeting of EU foreign and defense ministers. “Can you imagine if a Palestinian leader had said that the state of Israel does not exist? What would have been the reaction?
Borrell urged the Israeli government to «disavow those comments and begin working with all parties to defuse tensions.»
A far-right settler leader who opposes the Palestinian state, Smotrich has a history of making offensive statements against Palestinians. Last month, he called for the Palestinian West Bank town of Hawara to be “obliterated” after radical Jewish settlers rampaged through the town in response to a shooting attack that killed two Israelis. Smotrich later apologized after an international uproar.
His comments about the Palestinians were reminiscent of events by the late Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir that caused a stir in 1969. He later told The New York Times that he meant there had never been a Palestinian nation. But critics say her comments continue to tarnish her legacy.
During talks in Egypt on Sunday, a Palestinian gunman carried out another shooting attack in Hawara, seriously wounding an Israeli man.
The new violence, along with Smotrich’s comments, illustrated the difficult challenges ahead to defuse tensions after a year of deadly violence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. More than 200 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, and more than 40 Israelis or foreigners have been killed in Palestinian attacks during that time.
Sunday’s summit was held ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins this week. The Jewish holiday of Passover is scheduled for April, coinciding with Ramadan.
The upcoming period is a delicate one as large numbers of Jewish and Muslim worshipers flock to the Old City of Jerusalem, the emotional heart of the conflict and a hotbed of violence, increasing points of friction.
Large numbers of Jews are also expected to visit a key Jerusalem holy site, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount, an act Palestinians see as a provocation.
Clashes at the site in 2021 helped spark an 11-day war between Israel and Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip.
On Monday, Israeli police closed the offices of a Palestinian radio station in east Jerusalem, saying it worked for official Palestinian Authority media in violation of 1994 interim agreements between Israel and the Palestinians. The Palestinian Authority condemned the closure.
Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Middle East war. The Palestinians seek those territories for their future independent state.