Palestinians attack Gingrich comment on 'invented' peopleBy the CNN Wire Staff
(CNN) -- Senior Palestinian leaders on Saturday strongly criticized comments by Republican presidential frontrunner Newt Gingrich that the Palestinians are an "invented" people, calling them ignorant and racist.
Top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said the Gingrich remark was "the most racist statement I've ever seen."
Erakat, who has negotiated in talks with Israel and the United States, said the remarks show "how really despicable things can get" in American politics.
"Such thinking should be an alarm and concern for the world," Erakat said.
Gingrich made the comments in an interview that aired Friday with The Jewish Channel, a U.S. cable channel.
"I believe that the Jewish people have the right to have a state," Gingrich said in the interview. "Remember, there was no Palestine as a state. It was part of the Ottoman Empire. And I think that we've had an invented Palestinian people, who are in fact Arabs, who are historically part of the Arab community."
He added, "And they had a chance to go many places and for a variety of political reasons, we have sustained this war against Israel now since the 1940s. I think it's tragic."
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His comments, seemingly off the path from United States foreign policy supporting a two-state solution in the Middle East, come days after Gingrich attended a forum sponsored by the Republican Jewish Coalition in Washington, D.C., and as the current crop of GOP candidates compete for the Jewish vote.
Palestinians including Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said Gingrich needs to reexamine the history books.
"The Palestinian people inhabited the land since the dawn of history, and intend to remain in it until the end times," Fayyad said Saturday at an event in the West Bank city of Ramallah. "People like Gingrich must consult history, as it seems that all what he knows about the region is the history of the Ottoman era."
Fayyad said "despite oppression, occupation, and assaults, the Palestinian people remain steadfast in their historic land, and will achieve their legitimate rights."
An executive committee member of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Hanan Ashrawi, said Gingrich has "lost touch with reality."
The statements show "ignorance and bigotry" and are "a cheap way to win (the) pro-Israel vote," Ashrawi told Voice of Palestine radio, in comments reported by the Palestinian Authority-controlled WAFA news agency.
Fatah Revolutionary Council member Dimitri Diliani said Gingrich's remarks reflect "the ignorant, provocative, and racist nature of Mr. Gingrich," according to WAFA.
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"The Palestinian people descended from the Canaanite tribe of the Jebusites that inhabited the ancient site of Jerusalem as early as 3200 B.C.E.," Diliani said. The "Gingrich remarks are ignorant of the basic historical facts of the Middle East."
Diliani also said Gingrich was simply seeking the pro-Israel vote, which he said is "a pathetic political scheme that jeopardizes peace and stability in the region."
While some Israelis share the view espoused by Gingrich, successive Israeli governments have negotiated over the creation of a two-state solution that includes the establishment of a Palestinian state.
But Gingrich described the Middle East peace process as "delusional." He placed heavy blame on the Palestinian Authority and the role of Hamas, the ruling political party in Gaza, for the ongoing unrest, saying they both "represent an enormous desire to destroy Israel."
The Gingrich comments quickly drew criticism from a fellow Republican, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. A spokesman for Romney, who is Gingrich's closest competitor, questioned the former House speaker's approach.
"I'm not sure that kind of statement gets us any closer to accomplishing an agenda," said Mary Kramer, former U.S. Ambassador to Barbados and Romney surrogate. "And so that's one of the things that I think makes me a little bit nervous about Speaker Gingrich is that he sometimes makes comments that open to very broad interpretations."