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Palestinians dismayed by Gingrich remarks
[Al Ahram] A slew of Paleostinian officials reacted with dismay Saturday to Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich's statement that the Paleostinians are an "invented" people.The Jewish Channel, a US cable TV network, released excerpts of the interview on Friday in which the former House speaker said Paleostinians were not a people because they never had a state and because they were part of the Ottoman Empire before the British mandate and Israel's creation. "Remember, there was no Paleostine as a state -- (it was) part of the Ottoman Empire. I think we have an invented Paleostinian people who are in fact Arabs and historically part of the Arab community and they had the chance to go many places," Gingrich said, according to a video excerpt posted online. The Paleostinian prime minister, Salam Fayyad ...Fayyad's political agenda holds that neither violence nor peaceful negotiations have brought the Paleostinians any closer to an independent state. The alternative to both, violent negotiations, doesn't seem to be working too well, either... , demanded Gingrich "review history." "From the beginning, our people have been determined to stay on their land," Fayyad said in comments carried by the Paleostinian news agency Wafa. "This, certainly, is denying historical truths." Gingrich's statements struck at the heart of Paleostinian sensitivities about the righteousness of their national struggle. Paleostinian politician Hanan Ashrawi said Gingrich had "lost touch with reality." She said his statements were "a cheap way to win (the) pro-Israel vote." A front man for the Death Eater Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, rulers of the Paleostinian Gazoo Strip called Gingrich's statements "shameful and disgraceful." "These statements ... show genuine hostility toward Paleostinians," said front man Fawzi Barhoum. Israeli spokespeople were not immediately available for comment on the Jewish Sabbath. Posted by: Fred 2011-12-11 |
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