By David Singer ——Bio and Archives--March 28, 2023
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Borrell’s outburst came when asked the following question:
Q. I would like to ask your reaction of the Israeli Finance Minister [Bezalel] Smotrich who said yesterday in the speech in Paris--and I quote him -: “There is no such thing as the Palestinian nation, there is no Palestinian history, there is no Palestinian language.” I would like to ask your comments on this.”
Borrell lashed out against Smotrich and Israel:
The comments of Minister Smotrich go, once again, in the opposite direction and certainly cannot be tolerated. I call on the Israeli government to disavow those comments and to start working together with all parties to defuse tensions. It is not the first time that I have to express our concerns regarding the spiralling violence on the ground and we--the European Union--we have constantly advocated for measure of de-escalation, not inflammatory. The latest meetings in Aqaba, and in Sharm El Sheik go in the good direction, but I have to deplore this unacceptable comment by Minister Smotrich. It is wrong it is disrespectful; it is dangerous; it is counterproductive to say this kind of things in a situation which is already very tense.
So, we will continue on our longstanding commitment to the two-state solution with an independent and sovereign state of Palestine living side by side with Israel in peace and security.” I am sorry if some don’t like to listen to this kind of things, but this is the position of the European Union. It is not the personal position of the High Representative. It is the European Union position. ...
Not tolerate Smotrich’s comments? Calling on the Israeli government to disavow Smotrich’s comments? Borrell’s arrogance and ignorance was appalling.
Smotrich was calling out the Palestinians false narrative claiming to be an ancient people--adopted unquestioningly by Borrell despite the following facts:
“The Palestinians are those Arab citizens who were living normally in Palestine up to 1947, whether they remained or were expelled. Every child who was born to a Palestinian parent after this date whether in Palestine or outside is a Palestinian.”
“This Organization does not exercise any regional sovereignty over the West Bank in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, on the Gaza Strip or the Himmah Area. Its activities will be on the national popular level in the liberational, organizational, political and financial fields.”
The EU’s continuing call for a separate independent and sovereign state for the Palestinians--in addition to Jordan--ignores the existence of the alternative Saudi-based Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine solution proposed in 2022 -that states:
“Jordanians and Palestinians are as similar as any people can be. They are Sunni Arabs from the same neighborhood. Merging them will not create any long-term ethnic or sectarian fault lines.”
Successful implementation of the Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine solution will end the 100 years-old Jewish-Arab conflict. Borrell’s anti-Jewish diatribe ensures the continuation of that conflict--not its resolution.
Please join my Facebook Page: “Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine supporters”
Author’s note: The cartoon--commissioned exclusively for this article--is by Yaakov Kirschen aka “Dry Bones”- one of Israel’s foremost political and social commentators--whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media publications for decades.
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David Singer is an Australian Lawyer, a Foundation Member of the International Analyst Network and Convenor of Jordan is Palestine International—an organization calling for sovereignty of the West Bank and Gaza to be allocated between Israel and Jordan as the two successor States to the Mandate for Palestine. Previous articles written by him can be found at: jordanispalestine.blogspot.com