AN ISRAELI minister claimed that there was “no such thing” as a Palestinian people as Israel’s far-right coalition government ploughed ahead today with a part of its plan to overhaul the judiciary.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said in Paris late on Sunday that the notion of a Palestinian people was artificial.

He said: “There is no such thing as a Palestinian nation. There is no Palestinian history. There is no Palestinian language.” 

He spoke at a lectern draped with what appeared to be a map of Israel that included the occupied West Bank and parts of Jordan.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry called Mr Smotrich’s remarks “racist, fascist and extremist.”

A far-right settler leader who opposes Palestinian statehood, Mr Smotrich has a long record of offensive statements against the Palestinians. 

Last month, he called for the Palestinian town of Hawara in the West Bank to be “erased” after radical Jewish settlers rampaged through the town in response to a shooting attack that killed two Israelis. Mr Smotrich later apologised after an international uproar.

His latest offensive comments came as Israeli and Palestinian delegations at a meeting in Egypt, mediated by Egyptian, Jordanian and United States officials, were issuing a joint communique pledging to take steps to lower tensions in the region ahead of a sensitive holiday season.

It reflected the limited influence the US administration appears to have over Israel’s new far-right government and raised questions about attempts to lower tensions, both inside Israel and with the Palestinians.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition said that it was pushing a key part of its planned judicial overhaul — which would give the coalition control over who becomes a justice or a judge — before the Knesset takes a break next week.

US President Joe Biden reportedly spoke with Mr Netanyahu on Sunday to express “concern” over the plans that have sparked widespread protests across Israel.

Mr Biden encouraged a compromise in what were described as “candid and constructive” discussions.

On Sunday a Palestinian gunman shot and wounded an Israeli man in Hawara. The man was later arrested.

More than 200 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank and East Jerusalem during the last year. More than 40 Israelis and foreigners have been killed during that time.