https://arab.news/8nkh5
- Bezalel Smotrich dismissed existence of Palestinian people, used map of Israel including occupied West Bank, Gaza, Jordan
- Finance minister’s behavior reflected ‘Israeli arrogance, disrespect of international treaties, conventions’: Jordan MPs
AMMAN: The Jordanian Parliament’s Lower House has voted to expel Israel’s ambassador in Amman in protest over Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s reference to a map of Israel that included the occupied West Bank, Gaza, and Jordan.
During a speech in Paris on Sunday, Smotrich claimed the notion of a Palestinian people was artificial.
He said: “There is no such thing as a Palestinian nation. There is no Palestinian history. There is no Palestinian language.”
The minister was speaking at a memorial event for a French Israeli right-wing activist who had denied the existence of a Palestinian nation and advocated annexation of the West Bank.
During the Jordan Parliament session on Wednesday, MPs described Smotrich’s words as reflecting “an Israeli arrogance and disrespect of international treaties and conventions,” the Jordan News Agency reported.
Lower House speaker, Ahmed Safadi, called on Jordan’s government to take proactive measures against Smotrich’s statements and behavior.