Fatah, Hamas condemn Gingrich remarks

Fatah and Hamas spoke out Saturday after a US presidential hopeful denied the existence of the Palestinian people. Newt Gingrich says Palestinians are "an invented Palestinian people who are in fact Arabs," a view that is considered far outside of the conventional view of historians, even Israeli academics. Fatah said the remarks were racist and part of a premeditated agenda against Palestinians. The movement called on Gingrich to deliver an unambiguous apology to the Palestinian people. A spokesman for Hamas, meanwhile, called the statements "shameful and disgraceful." "These statements … show genuine hostility toward Palestinians," Fawzi Barhoum told the AP. Osama al-Qawasmeh, an official in Fatah's cultural office, said in a statement that the Palestinian people's existence and identity were not dependent on Gingrich's whims. “These remarks reflect ignorance and carry racial and unprecedented hostility against Palestinians," he said. They will only serve to deepen the divide between cultures and religions, he said. "Even though our people are backed by thousands of years of history, and Palestinians gave the holy Palestine its name, we remain on our land as a symbol of love, peace and coexistence for all religions," he said.