Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has sparked renewed backlash after saying the Palestinian people are “an invention” of the past century, with Palestinian officials blasting the comments as proof of the “racist” outlook of Israel’s new far-right government.

Speaking in Paris on Sunday, Smotrich said there was “no such thing as a Palestinian” because “there is no such thing as the Palestinian people”.

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“Do you know who are the Palestinians? I’m Palestinian,” Smotrich said, going on to describe his late grandfather, who he said was a “13th generation Jerusalemite” as “the true Palestinian”.

“The Palestinian people is an invention that is less than 100 years old,” added Smotrich, an ultranationalist who also oversees civilian administration in the occupied West Bank.

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His remarks were made during a memorial for Jacques Kupfer, an activist for Israel’s right-wing Likud party who died in 2021, with a video circulating online showing attendees responding to them with applause and cheers.

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