The Indonesian ministry of foreign affairs condemned Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's statements that the Palestinian people do not exist, TribunNews reported on Thursday.
"Indonesia strongly condemns the position of the Israeli finance minister who denies the existence of the Palestinian nation and does not respect the existence and territorial sovereignty of Jordan," the portal quoted the Indonesian foreign ministry as saying.
Israeli Finance Minister Betsalel Smotrich, also a leader of the governing coalition Religious Zionism party, speaking at a private Jewish community event in Paris on March 19, stated that there was no Palestinian people, and that the only true Palestinians were Jews.
According to Smotrich's version, there is no such thing as a Palestinian people; this nation is an invention of Arab activists who opposed the mass return of Jewish immigrants to their historic homeland at the end of the 19th century.
Several Arab countries condemned the Israeli minister's remarks, including the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Egypt, with which Israel has diplomatic relations.
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Based on materials from TASS