BRUSSELS (Dispatches) – The Palestinian Authority (PA) has hit out at European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen after she made a speech for the occupying regime’s 75th anniversary of occupation in which she claimed the regime had made “the desert bloom”.
In a statement, the PA’s foreign ministry described the phrase used by the EU leader as a “racist trope” that amounted to the “erasure” of the Palestinian people.
“The State of Palestine affirms that such propagandist discourse dehumanizes and erases the Palestinian people and falsifies their rich history and civilization. Likewise, such a narrative perpetuates the continued and racist denial of the Nakba and whitewashes the occupying regime’s illegal occupation and apartheid regime,” read the statement.
“It is also a betrayal to European citizens who do not endorse such racist erasure of the Palestinian people. President Ursula von der Leyen owes them and the Palestinian people an apology.”
The reference to the occupying regime having “made the desert bloom” is a common phrase used by Zionists and supporters of the regime.
However, Palestinians have long argued that the phrase amounts to the erasure of their history and misleadingly implies the land was empty or neglected prior to the arrival of settlers.
The occupying regime is this week marking its 75th anniversary of occupation, a date that holds a different significance for Palestinians: known as the Nakba or “catastrophe,” it marks the expulsion of more than 700,000 Palestinians from their historic homeland.
In her video message on Wednesday, von der Leyen addressed Zionist president Isaac Herzog and praised Zionist-EU friendship.
“You have literally made the desert bloom as I could see during my visit to the Negev last year.”
The occupying regime has been gripped for months by protests over proposed judicial overhaul, which would limit the power of judges and allow rulings to be overruled by the parliament.
Opponents of the reform argue that it will weaken the judiciary and the dictatorial regime further down the abyss.
Violence in the occupied West Bank and East Al-Quds has also been mounting since last year.
Around 100 Palestinians, including 16 children, have been shot dead by Zionist troops so far in 2023.