Arab states condemn Geert Wilders over anti-Palestine comments

Arab states have denounced Dutch politician Geert Wilders over his anti-Palestine remarks following Israel's genocidal war on Gaza.

Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, and the Arab League on Saturday condemned the recent statement by the anti-Islam parliamentarian, who called for the displacement of the Palestinian people to neighboring Jordan.

Palestine condemned the “racist” statements made by Wilders, whose Islamophobic far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) aims to form the next coalition government in the Netherlands after winning 37 seats in the 150-seat lower house of parliament this week.

“The Palestinian Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the racist inflammatory statements by Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders, in which he denied the rights of the Palestinian people, especially their right to establish their independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and called for their displacement to Jordan,” the official Palestinian news agency Wafa quoted a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry based in Ramallah, the West Bank, as saying.

The ministry called Wilders’ statements “a call to escalate the aggression against our people, and a blatant interference in their affairs and fate,” adding that "the Palestinian people have demonstrated the depth of their steadfastness in their homeland.”

The ministry called on the Dutch government to “condemn and reject” Wilders' statements, “in line with international law and international legitimacy.”

Similarly, Jordan condemned the “racist position” taken by Wilders denying Palestinians’ right to freedom.

“Today, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriate Affairs Ayman Safadi held a telephone call with his Dutch counterpart, Hanke Bruins Slot, during which he confirmed Jordan’s condemnation and rejection of the racist positions announced by extremist MP Geert Wilders, in which he denied the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to their freedom and their state,” said a Jordanian Foreign Ministry statement.

The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Yemen also followed suit, issuing separate statements denouncing Wilders.

In one statement, the UAE Embassy in the Netherlands said, “The UAE stands in full solidarity with brotherly Jordan, and stresses the importance of respecting its sovereignty. It also rejects any denial of the rights of the brotherly Palestinian people and their right to an independent state.”

In another, Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry called for opposing such ideas, expressing its full solidarity with Jordan.

Earlier on Friday, the Arab League had condemned the anti-Palestine remarks by Wilders, who won a major victory in the Nov. 22 Dutch elections.

He has become notorious in the past two decades for his rhetoric stoking hatred of Islam and Muslims, including insulting Islam's Prophet Mohammad [PBUH] and the Muslim's holy book, the Quran.

The far-right MP with a brazen anti-Palestine stance is a staunch supporter of the Israelis. He supports moving the Dutch Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to al-Quds and closing the Dutch diplomatic post in Ramallah, Palestine.

Wilder's controversial stance came on the heels of Israel's launch of the genocidal war on the people in Gaza after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas began Operation Al-Aqsa Storm inside the occupied territories on October 7.

The regime has killed at least 14,854 people, including more than 6,150 children and 4,000 women, in the Gaza Strip.

Arab states seek extension of Gaza truce; Israel vows to resume war

Arab states say a temporary truce between Israel and Palestinian resistance movement Hamas should become a first step toward a full cessation of hostilities.

In a statement on Wednesday, Hamas announced a four-day truce with Israel in the Gaza Strip that will see the temporary cessation of hostilities in Gaza.

The ceasefire went into effect at 7:00 am (0500 GMT) on Friday after seven weeks of nonstop bombings, shelling, and direct ground attacks, and following a night of intense airstrikes by the Israeli regime forces on Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.

Now, the ceasefire will allow the exchange of prisoners and the entry of hundreds of trucks loaded with humanitarian aid, medicine, and fuel to Gaza.

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