Arab States Condemn Israeli Minister's Exclusionary Comment.

Arab states including the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, and Jordan have condemned Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's remarks denying the existence of the Palestinian people as "racist". Smotrich, who is part of Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-right government, made the comments in Paris, quoting a French-Israeli Zionist activist. Jordan summoned Israel's ambassador for a rebuke, while the UN and the EU's foreign policy chief also criticised Smotrich's statement. Violence has intensified in the West Bank in recent months, with fears of further escalation during Ramadan.