Top US diplomat condemns Israeli minister's denial of Palestinians’ existence

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday condemned Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's denial of the existence of the Palestinian people.

Under questioning from Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a fellow Democrat, Blinken was asked if he joined in the Biden administration's condemnation of the remarks, to which the top diplomat said: "I do."

Smotrich, a far-right nationalist, over the weekend said the Palestinians were "an invention" from the last century and people like himself and his grandparents were the “real Palestinians.”

"There is no such thing as Palestinians because there is no such thing as a Palestinian people,” he said Sunday.

The comments from Smotrich were the second over the past few weeks that have elicited a widespread international outcry.

Last month, Smotrich triggered a storm of international condemnation after he said the Palestinian town of Huwara in the occupied West Bank should be "wiped out” following the death of two settlers in a shooting attack there.

Following the shootings, a group of settlers rampaged through the town, setting cars and homes aflame, fatally shooting one Palestinian and wounding others.

Smotrich's comments about Huwara "do not" reflect US values, Blinken said, adding that a recent Israeli bill to resettle four Israeli outposts in the northern West Bank abandoned in 2005 are "inconsistent" with "longstanding commitments."

"My understanding is that Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu has said that they have no intention of actually, the government, this was a Knesset law, has no intention of actually moving forward on the authorities that it's been apparently given," he added.

The settlements were evacuated under the Disengagement Law of 2005.

"The Knesset decision to repeal parts of the Disengagement Law brings an end to a discriminatory and humiliating law that barred Jews from living in areas in northern Samaria (West Bank),” Netanyahu said in a statement.

He noted, however, that his government does not plan to build new settlements in the northern West Bank.

"The government has no intention of establishing new communities in these areas," he added.

Estimates indicate that about 650,000 settlers are living in 164 settlements and 116 outposts in the occupied West Bank.

Under international law, all Jewish settlements in the occupied territories are considered illegal.