Central to the false Palestinian narrative is its constant denial of Jewish history in the Land of Israel, despite the abundance of archeological evidence, including Hebrew coins and ancient texts, that confirm Israel’s history.

The rejection of any and all Jewish history in Israel is reinforced repeatedly by top Palestinian Authority (PA) officials.

Many statements made by top PA officials and institutions right before the Islamic month of Ramadan, were intended to add fuel to the PA’s ever-burning incitement that the Al-Aqsa Mosque and all its plazas are “purely Islamic” and “belong only to Muslims,” and are in danger of defilement and destruction by Jews.

The PA’s message — derived from this lie — is that Israel is a foreign colonialist state with no right to exist and is destined to be destroyed. As the PA’s Prime Minister recently worded it: “We have learned from history that colonialism passes in the end.”

The following are recent examples of the denial of Jewish history in Israel: 

Abbas’ spokesman denies Jewish history: “No historical proof… [the Jews] had any kind of presence in this land” 

PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina: “The Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Al-Aqsa Mosque are among the foundational pillars of history, and they are Palestinian holy places, and not Jewish holy places [sic]. There is no historical proof — despite all the excavations — that [the Jews] had any kind of presence in this land.”

[Official PA TV News, March 20, 2023]

The Temple Mount, where the Al-Aqsa Mosque was built, is Judaism’s holiest site and predates the Mosque by more than 1,500 years. It is because Islam has recognized the Jewish holy site that their mosque was built there.

PA Prime Minister denies Jewish history: Jews have no “connection” to the land and will eventually leave

PA Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh: “Israel has falsified the history of Palestine. Since 1967 Israel has been conducting excavations and has not been able to prove that [it] has a direct or indirect connection [to the land].”

[Official PA TV News, March 18, 2023]

“[PA] Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh said … that history and all the archaeological artifacts prove that the Palestinians have been holding onto their land since the dawn of human history.

He continued: ‘We are the ones who gave Palestine its name and the land its value and its status. This land is ours. Israel is a colonialist state that was established by colonialists and settlers, and which expanded like every settler colonialism throughout history. We have learned from history that colonialism passes in the end.’” [emphasis added]

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, March 21, 2023]

“[PA] Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh said in a speech he gave on behalf of President Mahmoud Abbas…: ‘The struggle, which was created with the start of the colonialism, is not just over the history of Palestine, but also over the history of the Palestinians in Palestine, the people, and the land, because Israel, which has claimed that Palestine is the promised land, comes and says that this is disputed land. The occupation has utilized all the forms of oppression, and implemented a racist policy against our people, particularly against our people in Jerusalem. They have treated them as if they are [only] staying there and not native residents.’

The prime minister added: ‘We do not need to give proof of us being the original owners of the land, but we are taking action to clarify the truth, so that others will not be deceived by the Zionist lie.’ … Israel is a colonialist and settler entity that is settling [settlers] … Shtayyeh noted: ‘The content of the [Palestinian] declaration of independence … confirms that the land of Palestine is the land of the divine messengers, [and that] the Palestinian Arab people was born, blossomed, and developed [in it] [sic].’”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, March 19, 2023]

Supreme Shariah Judge and Abbas’ advisor: “Excavations and archaeological research in the entire land of Palestine” did not produce any “evidence”

Supreme Shari’ah Judge of Palestine and PA President Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash [said that] in 100 years of excavations and archaeological research in the entire land of Palestine, they have not succeeded in finding one [piece of] evidence proving that the occupiers have a right to this land; on the contrary, it has been proven that the continuous truth in this land is the Palestinian people, whose Canaanite ancestors lived in it more than 5,000 years ago, and which has continued to live in it without a break until this very day…  He noted that this land is ours, and that despite all the lies and falsifications that colonialism has fabricated to steal Palestine, it will not succeed in erasing the truth, as true history is not like invented history, and the truth is not defeated by illusions and fables, regardless of how much time passes. He also said that this occupation will pass sooner or later. [emphasis added]

[WAFA, official PA news agency, March 20, 2023]

Similarly, a regular columnist of the official PA daily claimed that not “one relic” has been found as proof of the Jewish kingdoms:

“Throughout 75 years of Israel’s existence they — and before them Western archaeologists from Britain, Germany, France, the US, and others, who conducted researches and excavations even before Israel existed — attempted but did not find one relic indicating the existence of the alleged Jewish kingdoms in Palestine. Therefore, there was no First Temple and no Second Temple, and there also will be no Third Temple on the Arab land of Palestine.” [emphasis added]

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, March 22, 2023]

PA: The Jewish holy place the Western Wall is “Islamic”

Official PA TV narrator: “It is easy to go from [the Austrian Pilgrim Hospice] to the holy sites in the Old City [of Jerusalem], such as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Islamic Al-Buraq Wall [i.e., the Western Wall], and even the Mount of Olives.” [emphasis added]

[Official PA TV, “In Its Alleys,” March 13, 2023]

Itamar Marcus is the Founder and Director of Palestinian Media Watch, where a version of this article first appeared.

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