Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich said on Sunday evening that “the Palestinian people are an invention that is less than 100 years old.” Speaking in Paris at a memorial event for Likud activist Jacques Kupfer, Smotrich said, “There’s no such thing as Palestinians – because there is no such thing as a Palestinian people. We need to tell the truth without bowing to the lies and distortions of history by BDS and pro-Palestinian organizations.” “Do you know who the Palestinians are?” Smotrich asked. “My grandfather, who was the 13th generation in Jerusalem, is the real Palestinian. My grandmother, who was born in Metula more than 100 years ago to a family of pioneers, is Palestinian.” “According to international law, there are five characteristics that define a nation – history, culture, language, currency and historical leadership. Who was the first Palestinian king? What language do the Palestinians have? Has there ever been a Palestinian currency? Is there a Palestinian history or culture? There isn’t any.” “There are Arabs who are in the Middle East and who arrived in Israel at the same time as the Jewish Aliyah and the early days of Zionism. After 2,000 years of exile, the people of Israel are returning home and there are Arabs who don’t like it. So what do they do? They invent a fictitious people and claim fictitious rights in the land of Israel just to fight the Zionist movement.” “That is the historic and Biblical truth and it must be told to the Arabs in the land of Israel and here at the Élysée Palace. This truth should also be heard by the Jewish people in the State of Israel who are a little confused and also heard in the White House in Washington. The whole world needs to hear this truth because it is the truth – and the truth will win.” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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