Politics

Gingrich: Palestinians an ‘invented’ people

Will Rahn Senior Editor
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Former House Speaker, GOP presidential front-runner and history buff Newt Gingrich reiterated his support for Israel this week, saying the Palestinians are an “invented” people carrying out an unjust war against the Jewish state.

“I believe that the Jewish people have a right to have a state,” Gingrich said when asked by The Jewish Channel’s Steven Weiss if he considers himself to be a Zionist. “And I believe the commitments that were made at the time — remember, there was no Palestinian state. It was part of the Ottoman Empire. And I think we’ve had an invented Palestinian people, who are in fact Arabs, and were historically part of the Arab community.”

“They had a chance to go to many places, and for a variety of political reasons they have sustained this war against Israel now since the 1940s, and I think it’s tragic,” Gingrich continued.

Gingrich also said that he embraces a “tough-minded realism” and praised Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin “Bibi” Netanyahu, calling him a “very tough guy” and a “very free market guy.”

“I see a much more tougher-minded and much more honest approach to the Middle East in a Gingrich administration,” he said.

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