Arab, Muslim Worlds Condemn Israeli Minister’s Racist Remarks against Palestinians

Palestinian Muslims gather at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound for Friday Noon prayer in Jerusalem on February 24, 2023. (AFP)
Palestinian Muslims gather at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound for Friday Noon prayer in Jerusalem on February 24, 2023. (AFP)
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Arab, Muslim Worlds Condemn Israeli Minister’s Racist Remarks against Palestinians

Palestinian Muslims gather at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound for Friday Noon prayer in Jerusalem on February 24, 2023. (AFP)
Palestinian Muslims gather at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound for Friday Noon prayer in Jerusalem on February 24, 2023. (AFP)

The appearance of Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich at a podium adorned with an Israeli flag that included all of Jordan and the Palestinian territories was widely condemned by the Arab and Muslim worlds.

Smotrich, who heads a religious-nationalist party in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-right coalition, said on Sunday there was "no such thing as a Palestinian people," or Palestinian history or culture.

Saudi Arabia condemned on Tuesday the minister's offensive and racist remarks.

The Foreign Ministry underscored the Kingdom's rejection of such baseless statements that only stoke hatred and violence and undermine international efforts for peace and dialogue.

It reiterated Riyadh's support for all international efforts aimed at resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict according to the 2002 Arab peace initiative and that secures the establishment of a Palestinian state according to 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi decried on Tuesday the minister's comments as "racist".

Amman late on Monday summoned the Israeli ambassador in Jordan and said Smotrich's move was a provocative act by an "extremist" and "racist" minister that violated international norms and Jordan's peace treaty with Israel.

An official source told Reuters on Tuesday that Amman had received assurances from Israel that Smotrich's statements did not represent Israel's position.

"These statements are provocative, racist and come from an extremist figure and we call on the international community to condemn it," Safadi said at a news conference.

"These remarks will not undermine Jordan, the rights of Palestinians or the rise of a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital," he added.

"We will not be deterred by a racist and extremist person, who had previously called for erasing Hawara off the map. We are a nation that will not be deterred by a person who is known to the world for being racist," he went on to say.

Furthermore, the FM warned against any possible escalation in the Palestinian territories with the advent of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, which begins on Thursday.

He stressed that Amman will do all that is required to not only protect its interests and stances, but protect and support the interests of the brotherly Palestinian people.

He also highlighted the intense efforts exerted by Jordan and Egypt, in coordination with the United States and Palestinian Authority, to put a stop to Israel's illegal unilateral measures.

Smotrich made the speech as Israeli and Palestinian officials met in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh for de-escalation talks ahead of Ramadan.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation strongly condemned Smotrich's "racist" remarks, saying they were an "extension of Israel's false claims and ideology on which it had established its state."

It is this ideology that Israel uses to continue its "ethnic cleansing, forced displacement, settlement expansion and killing and oppression of Palestinians, confiscation of their territories and denial of their legitimate national rights."

The Arab League also condemned Smotrich's statements, saying they are "desperate remarks by a fascist minister".

The statements "will not undermine the existence of Jordan or the Palestinian people, their rights and identity."

Moreover, it said the minister's remarks were a "flagrant threat to regional and international security and peace and an act of defiance of the international community, its treaties, laws and norms."

It warned that the statements also undermine the latest regional and international efforts to de-escalate tensions and revive the peace process.

The United Arab Emirates condemned Smotrich's statements, underlining its rejection of inciteful rhetoric and all practices that contradict moral and human values and principles.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MoFAIC) stressed the need to confront hate speech and violence and noted the importance of promoting the values of tolerance and coexistence to reduce escalation and instability in the region.

Qatar slammed Smotrich's statements, saying they were the latest evidence of the Israeli government's racism and an attempt to falsify history and deny the Palestinian people's right to exist.

It stressed that such extremist statements and unfounded claims violate human values.



UN Condemns Israel's Moves against Agency for Palestinian Refugees

UNRWA center targeted by Israeli shelling in northern Gaza (DPA)
UNRWA center targeted by Israeli shelling in northern Gaza (DPA)
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UN Condemns Israel's Moves against Agency for Palestinian Refugees

UNRWA center targeted by Israeli shelling in northern Gaza (DPA)
UNRWA center targeted by Israeli shelling in northern Gaza (DPA)

The United Nations warned Tuesday that recent actions by Israel against the UN agency for Palestinian refugees risked depriving millions of people of basic services such as education and healthcare.

Israel's parliament passed new legislation on Monday formally stripping the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) of diplomatic immunity, and barring Israeli companies from providing water or electricity to the agency's institutions, AFP reported.

According to UNRWA, the legislation also grants the Israeli government the authority to expropriate the agency's properties in East Jerusalem, including its headquarters and main vocational training center.

UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini condemned the legislation as "outrageous", decrying it on social media as "part of an ongoing, systematic campaign to discredit UNRWA and thereby obstruct the core role that the agency plays providing human-development assistance and services to Palestine refugees".

Filippo Grandi, the outgoing head of the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, and a former UNRWA chief, also criticised the move as "very unfortunate".

In an interview with AFP, he highlighted that UNRWA, unlike other UN agencies, provides basic public services such as education and healthcare to the millions of registered Palestinian refugees it serves across Gaza and the West Bank, as well as in Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.

"If you deprive those people of those services... then you had better find a substitute," he said, warning: "I think it would be very difficult."

"At the moment, there is a great risk that millions of people will be deprived of basic services if UNRWA is further deprived of space to work, and resources to work."

Israel has been ratcheting up pressure on UNRWA over the past two years.

It has accused the agency of providing cover for Hamas militants, claiming that some UNRWA employees took part in the militant group's October 7, 2023 assault on Israel, which sparked the war in Gaza.

A series of UN-linked internal and external investigations found some "neutrality-related issues" at UNRWA, but stressed Israel had not provided conclusive evidence for its headline allegation.

Grandi criticised the torrent of accusations that have swirled around the agency.

"UNRWA is a very indispensable organization in the Middle East," he said.

"Contrary to much of the frankly baseless rhetoric that we have heard in the past couple of years, UNRWA is a force for peace and stability," he added.

"In a region in which you need every bit of stability and efforts towards peace, it would be really irresponsible to let such an important organization decline further."


Syria Imposes Night Curfew on Port City of Latakia

People watch as Syrian Security forces are deployed after clashes erupted during a protest in the city of Latakia, Syria, 28 December 2025. EPA/AHMAD FALLAHA
People watch as Syrian Security forces are deployed after clashes erupted during a protest in the city of Latakia, Syria, 28 December 2025. EPA/AHMAD FALLAHA
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Syria Imposes Night Curfew on Port City of Latakia

People watch as Syrian Security forces are deployed after clashes erupted during a protest in the city of Latakia, Syria, 28 December 2025. EPA/AHMAD FALLAHA
People watch as Syrian Security forces are deployed after clashes erupted during a protest in the city of Latakia, Syria, 28 December 2025. EPA/AHMAD FALLAHA

Syrian authorities imposed an overnight curfew in the coastal city of Latakia on Tuesday.

Authorities announced a "curfew in Latakia city, effective from 5:00pm (1400 GMT) on Tuesday, December 30, 2025, until 6:00am (0300 GMT) on Wednesday, December 31, 2025".


Jailed Turkish Kurd Leader Calls on Government to Broker Deal for Syrian Kurds

(FILES) Supporters display a poster depicting jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan, after he called on the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to disarm and dissolve itself in Diyarbakir, southeastern Türkiye, on February 27, 2025. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP)
(FILES) Supporters display a poster depicting jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan, after he called on the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to disarm and dissolve itself in Diyarbakir, southeastern Türkiye, on February 27, 2025. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP)
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Jailed Turkish Kurd Leader Calls on Government to Broker Deal for Syrian Kurds

(FILES) Supporters display a poster depicting jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan, after he called on the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to disarm and dissolve itself in Diyarbakir, southeastern Türkiye, on February 27, 2025. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP)
(FILES) Supporters display a poster depicting jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan, after he called on the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to disarm and dissolve itself in Diyarbakir, southeastern Türkiye, on February 27, 2025. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP)

Jailed Turkish Kurd leader Abdullah Ocalan said Tuesday that it was "crucial" for Türkiye’s government to broker a peace deal between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Damascus government.

Clashes between Syrian forces and the SDF have cast doubt over a deal to integrate the group's fighters into the army, which was due to take effect by the end of the year, reported AFP.

Ocalan, founder of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) group, called on Türkiye to help ensure implementation of the deal announced in March between the SDF and the Syrian government.

"It is essential for Türkiye to play a role of facilitator, constructively and aimed at dialogue," he said in a message released by Türkiye's pro-Kurdish DEM party.

"This is crucial for both regional peace and to strengthen its own internal peace," Ocalan, who has been jailed for 26 years, added.

"The fundamental demand made in the agreement signed on March 10 between the SDF and the government in Damascus is for a democratic political model permitting (Syria's) peoples to govern together," he added.

"This approach also includes the principle of democratic integration, negotiable with the central authorities. The implementation of the March 10 agreement will facilitate and accelerate that process."

The backbone of the US-backed SDF is the YPG, a Kurdish group seen by Türkiye as an extension of the PKK.

Türkiye and Syria both face long-running unrest in their Kurdish-majority regions, which span their shared border.

In Türkiye, the PKK agreed this year at Ocalan's urging to end its four-decade armed struggle.

In Syria, Sharaa has agreed to merge the Kurds' semi-autonomous administration into the central government, but deadly clashes and a series of differences have held up implementation of the deal.

The SDF is calling for a decentralized government, which Sharaa rejects.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, whose country sees Kurdish fighters across the border as a threat, urged the SDF last week not to be an "obstacle" to stability.

Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi said Thursday that "all efforts" were being made to prevent the collapse of talks.