(CNN) — The United Arab Emirates and Jordan, Thursday, strongly condemned the statements of Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, during which he called for the “erasing” of a Palestinian town.
In a statement, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirmed, “The UAE rejects all practices and behaviors that contradict moral and human values and principles.”
“The ministry stressed the need to confront hate speech and violence,” and noted “the importance of promoting the values of tolerance and human coexistence in efforts to reduce escalation and instability in the region,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced the “inflammatory statements” of the Israeli minister, saying that such statements ” portend serious consequences and represent a violation of international humanitarian law.”
But the two countries stressed that all regional and international efforts should be made to advance the peace process in the Middle East.
Smotrich, the Israeli finance minister and leader of the far-right “religious Zionism” party, said on Wednesday that the Palestinian town of Hawara in the occupied West Bank – where two Israeli brothers were shot dead on Sunday – “must be erased.”
“I think the village of Hawara should be wiped out,” he told a reporter at a conference run by the economic newspaper The Marker. “I think the state of Israel should do it, not – God forbid – ordinary citizens.”
The Israeli minister’s remarks sparked a strong rebuke from the US State Department.
State Department spokesman Ned Price told a news briefing that the remarks were “irresponsible, abhorrent, and disgusting,” and added, “Just as we condemn Palestinian incitement to violence, we condemn these provocative statements that also amount to incitement to violence.”
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