Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar condemn Smotrich’s ‘racist’ denial of Palestinian nation

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar condemn remarks by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who said this week in Paris that the Palestinian nation doesn’t exist, while standing on a podium that featured a map of “Greater Israel” that includes the territories of Jordan and the West Bank.

The Saudi statement blasts the remarks, saying they are “racist, false and promote a discourse of hate and violence and harm efforts to achieve peace.”

The Emirati foreign ministry condemns both the map and the remarks, emphasizing the need “to confront discourse of hate and violence.”

Qatar’s foreign ministry similarly condemns both the “denial of the existence of the Palestinian people” and Smotrich’s “use of a map of Israel that includes the borders of Jordan and the occupied Palestinian territories.”