GCC condemns Israeli minister’s controversial remarks about Palestinians

The Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has condemned the recent controversial comments by a far-right Israeli minister about Palestinians, calling on the United States to respond to statements that target the Palestinian people.

The six-member GCC’s foreign ministers sent a letter to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday, after Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich denied the existence of the Palestinian people last week.

The GCC urged Washington “to assume its responsibilities in responding to all measures and statements that target the Palestinian people.”

It also called on the US “to play its role in reaching a just, comprehensive and lasting solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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The GCC’s foreign ministers further stressed that the letter expresses the position of the leaders of the member countries of the council with regard to the Palestinian cause, which is the Muslim world’s main issue.  

The GCC is a union of six countries in the Persian Gulf region including Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain.

Speaking in Paris last Sunday, Smotrich claimed that there was "no such thing as a Palestinian people," or Palestinian history or culture.

He said Palestinians are “an invention of the past century,” adding that “There are no Palestinians because there are no Palestinian people.” 

Smotrich’s remarks sparked outrage among Muslim nations, with Palestinian officials denouncing his comments as evidence of the Israeli cabinet’s “racist ideology.”

On Tuesday, the US also joined the condemnation of the Zionist minister for denying the existence of Palestinians, calling his remarks "dangerous."

"We found those comments to not only be inaccurate but also deeply concerning and dangerous," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said.

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Smotrich has a history of making such provocative remarks against Palestinians.

In February, he called for the Palestinian town of Huwara in the occupied West Bank to be wiped out.

The remarks emboldened hundreds of Israeli settlers to attack Palestinian homes and cars in the town. One Palestinian was killed and hundreds more injured as a result.

In the letter, the GCC also denounced Smotrich’s comments about Huwara.

Israeli settlers and troops have escalated attacks on Palestinians since late December 2022, when Netanyahu staged a comeback as the regime’s prime minister at the head of a cabinet of far-right and extremist parties.

Since the start of this year, at least 88 Palestinians, including 17 children and one woman, have been killed by Israeli forces, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

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