“There is no such thing as Palestinians because there is no such thing as a Palestinian people,” said Smotrich who heads the Religious Zionist Party.“Who are the [real] Palestinians? I am Palestinian,” he said.He recalled his family’s 13 generations in the Land of Israel, mentioning his grandmother who had been born in the northern border town of Metula over a hundred years ago before the creation of the state.His ancestors and his grandmother were “Palestinians,” he said.Before 1948, the territory that now encompasses the modern state of Israel had been called Palestine. The Romans used that term to refer to that territory after they conquered the ancient state of Israel.
This truth [that there is no such thing as a separate “Palestinian people”] needs to be heard by the Arabs in Israel. This truth needs to be heard by the Jewish people in Israel who have gotten confused. This truth needs to be heard in the Elysee and in the White House. This truth must be heard by the whole world because this is the truth.”When modern Zionists at the end of the 19th century spoke of a return to their land, they spoke of going to Palestine, a name that appeared on all documents and currency relating to pre-state Israel.Smotrich is among a number of far-right politicians who do not accept the adoption by regional Arabs of the term Palestinian to describe their ethnicity and national movement as well as their aspirations for self-determination in a state which will be called Palestine.
After the Six-Day War, no Arab leader could open his mouth without mentioning the “Palestinian people.” According to the Romanian intelligence chief, Ion Pacepa, it was the KGB that first advised the Arabs to use the phrase “Palestinian people.”…Smotrich compared Jewish history in the region which dates back thousands of years with that of the modern-day Palestinians, whose history, he said was absent.
The Palestinian nation has existed for less than one hundred years,”[in fact, the claim of a separate Palestinian people goes back only 55 years, to 1967] noting that they do not meet the international standards for nationhood since they are lacking a unique history, culture, language and currency.“I ask you who was the first Palestinian King, what [unique] language do they have, was there ever a Palestinian coin. Is there a Palestinian history or culture? There isn’t. There is no such thing as a Palestinian nation.
The Palestinian people do not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct “Palestinian people” to oppose Zionism. Yes, the existence of a separate Palestinian identity exists only for tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan.
The Palestinians, he said, are regional Arabs who arrived in the Land of Israel at the same time as the first major waves of [Jewish] immigration at the end of the 19th century….
“What happened? They created a fictional nation and then worked for their fictitious rights to the Land of Israel just to battle against the Zionist movement. That is the historical truth and the bBblical truth. That is the truth and there is no alternative,” Smotrich said.“This truth needs to be heard by the Arabs in Israel. This truth needs to be heard by the Jewish people in Israel who have gotten confused. This truth needs to be heard in the Elysee and in the White House. This truth must be heard by the whole world because this is the truth,” Smotrich stated.United States National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told Channel 12 that such remarks were “unhelpful.”
The European Union said it “firmly deplores yet another unacceptable comment by Minister Smotrich ”which should not be “tolerated.Such remarks are “wrong, disrespectful, dangerous and counterproductive in a situation which is already very tense,” the EU said.“We call on the Israeli government to disavow those comments and to work together with all the parties involved to defuse tensions,” the EU said.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that Smotrich’s words were racist, ahistorical, and fueled anger among the Palestinians and ran counter to efforts by its government to halt a violent outbreak during the month of Ramadan which begins on March 22 and which will overlap with the Passover and Easter.Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s office and Prime Minister Mohammed Shytayyeh denounced Smotrich’s remarks as well as the graphic at the podium from which he spoke….
Shtayyeh said that Smotrich was repeating the myth that Palestine is “a land without people and a people without land” in contrast to “historical and archeological evidence” proving ancient Palestinian roots in their land.