Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich speaks at a news conference after announcing that he will sign an order to seize Palestinian Authority funds and transfer them to the families of victims of Palestinian attacks, at Israel’s Finance Ministry in Jerusalem, January 8, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

i24 News – The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) announced Sunday that it had written a letter to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to condemn Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s comments, in which he denied the existence of a Palestinian people.

In the letter, the GCC called on Washington “to assume its responsibilities in responding to all measures and statements that target the Palestinian people.” The six-member GCC’s foreign ministers also urged the US “to play its role in reaching a just, comprehensive and lasting solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The US State Department had earlier called Smotrich’s comments not only “inaccurate but also deeply concerning and dangerous.” Blinken also said that the minister’s remarks do not reflect US values.

Speaking at an event in France two weeks ago, Smotrich said that the Palestinians did not exist as a people, sparking outrage among Arab nations. The GCC ministers met in Riyadh last week. Saudi Arabia, which does not have official relations with Israel, previously issued an unusually harsh statement condemning the “offensive and racist statements made by an official in the Israeli occupation government against the State of Palestine and its brotherly people.”