Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, March 21, 2023
From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, March 21, 2023
In apparent dig at Smotrich, US diplomat visits museum for Palestinian national poet
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
US Office of Palestinian Affairs head George Noll visits the Mahmoud Darwish Museum in Ramallah on March 21, 2023. (US Office of Palestinian Affairs)
In a not-so-subtle jab at Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who claimed Sunday that Palestinian people and culture don’t exist, the head of the US Embassy in Jerusalem’s Office of Palestinian Affairs George Noll pays a visit to the Mahmoud Darwish Museum in Ramallah, which memorializes the late author regarded as the Palestinian national poet.
“Mahmoud Darwish showed us the power of words. As he wrote, poetry and beauty are always making peace. His poetry is a Palestinian national treasure,” Noll’s office tweets.
