The UAE has condemned a comment by Israeli Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich, in which he denied the existence of the Palestinian people.
Mr Smotrich provoked fury when he said there was no Palestinian history or culture and used a flag depicting expanded Israeli borders that incorporated Jordan and the Palestinian territories.
This prompted Amman to summon Israel's ambassador to Jordan, Eitan Sorkis, to receive a rebuke.
“There are no Palestinians, because there isn't a Palestinian people,” Mr Smotrich said on Sunday in Paris.
He was quoting French-Israeli Zionist activist Jacques Kupfer, according to a video circulating on social media.
The UAE condemned the statement, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation saying the UAE “rejected the incitement rhetoric and all practices that contradict moral and human values and principles”.
The ministry said hate speech and violence should be confronted and values of tolerance and human coexistence should be promoted to reduce escalation and instability in the region.
It said regional and international efforts to advance the peace process in the Middle East should be supported and illegal practices that threaten the two-state solution and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state should be brought to an end.
Jordan has been assured that the comments did not represent Israel's position, an official source said on Tuesday.
The source told Reuters that top Israeli officials said they rejected Mr Smotrich's comments and that they respected Jordan's borders and the peace treaty with the kingdom.
'Racist ideology'
On Monday, Jordanian Foreign Ministry spokesman Sinan Al Majali said Mr Sorkis was told to relay to his government “a strong-worded letter of protest” from the kingdom.
The two countries signed a peace treaty in 1994.
“The ambassador was told of the need of his government to take a frank and clear position regarding these extremist and provocative statements,” Mr Al Majali said.
He said Mr Smotrich's remarks constituted “a dangerous escalation that threatens security and stability” and “racist, extremist ideology”.
An earlier statement by the ministry said Mr Smotrich's use of the map with expanded borders may be a breach of the peace treaty between Israel and Jordan.
A representative for Mr Smotrich, head of one of the religious-nationalist parties in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-right coalition, said the flag was a set decoration by the conference organisers and that the minister was a guest.
In his speech, evoking biblical “prophecies” that are “beginning to come true,” Mr Smotrich said: “After 2,000 years … God is gathering his people. The people of Israel are returning home.”
“There are Arabs around who don't like it, so what do they do? They invent a fictitious people and claim fictitious rights to the land of Israel, only to fight the Zionist movement,” he said.
“It is the historical truth, it is the biblical truth,” he added.
“The Arabs in Israel must hear it, as well as certain Jews in Israel who are confused — this truth must be heard here at the Elysee Palace, and at the White House in Washington, and everyone must hear this truth.”
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh condemned Mr Smotrich's remarks, saying they amounted to incitement to violence.
A separate statement by the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said that by denying the existence of the Palestinian people and their legitimate national rights in their homeland, Israeli leaders “foster an environment that fuels Jewish extremism and terrorism against our people.”
Such positions “continue the spiral of violence with the aim of sabotaging efforts to achieve calm.”
Mr Smotrich's comments came as Israeli and Palestinian representatives met in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh along with Egyptian, Jordanian and US officials for “extensive discussions on ways to de-escalate tensions between the Palestinians and Israelis”, according to a joint statement.
It is not the first time Mr Smotrich has caused controversy with comments aimed at the Palestinian people. Earlier in March, he called for the Palestinian town of Hawara to be “erased” — a statement later condemned by Mr Netanyahu as “inappropriate”.
He was consequently boycotted on a US trip by prominent Jewish figures, despite issuing an apology.
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It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
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Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
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