Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud AbbasFlash 90

The office of Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Monday issued a statement condemning Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who said at an event in Paris on Sunday that “there is no such thing as a Palestinian people.”

"This truth should be heard here in the Elysee Palace. This truth should also be heard by the Jewish people in the State of Israel who are a little confused, this truth should be 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," said Smotrich in his remarks.

In its statement, Abbas’ office stated that "the racist statement of the extremist Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich, who denied the existence of the Palestinian people, is an attempt to falsify history and distort it, and it exposes the racism of the Israeli government, which strives to deny the existence of the Palestinian people who have been in this land since time immemorial."

The statement added that "the Israeli attempts to invent a false narrative that denies the existence of our (Palestinian) people is denied by history, which confirms that the Palestinian people are the owners of this land, and its roots reach deep into history, and they do not need people like Smotrich to know their history which goes back to the beginning of history."

"The rooted Palestinian narrative vehemently denies these extremist attempts to steal history and falsify it for the purposes of legends and lies," said Abbas’ office.

"Where did Smotrich, who believes in racism and lies as a means of establishing the occupation which will end sooner or later, come from?" the statement said.

Earlier, the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemned Smotrich, calling his speech “reckless incitement and a violation of international norms and the Jordanian Peace Treaty.”

Israel’s Foreign Ministry later issued a clarification which said, “Israel is committed to the 1994 peace agreement with Jordan. There has been no change in the position of the State of Israel, which recognizes the territorial integrity of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.”

On Monday night, Israel’s National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi said that he spoke to Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi following the uproar over Smotrich's speech.

“I assured him of the commitment the Government of Israel has to uphold the peace treaty between our two countries which has strengthened the stability and the security of our region for nearly 30 years and that we are committed to the entire territorial integrity of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,” said Hanegbi.

“Additionally, I relayed to FM Safadi the important contributions made by King Abdullah in ensuring the successes of both the meetings in Aqaba and Sharm El Sheikh, which included participation of Jordan, Egypt, the United States, the PA and Israel,” he added.