Once upon a time, there lived a people known as Palestinians. They lived in a beautiful, sacred land with holy sites belonging to all three Abrahamic faiths. It was a place of learning, a place of harvesting, a place of worship, and a place of history. Palestinian Jews, Christians, and Muslims lived happily ever after in peace and harmony. The end.

Is this a true story, or just a fairy tale? According to one Israeli politician named Orit Strook, it’s just a myth. There’s no such thing as Palestinians. And get this: her job title is Minister of Settlements. Yes, that’s actually a thing in Israel.

On February 19, 2024, Strook stated during a Knesset meeting:

“Every cultured person in the world knows that this land is ours, for the Israeli people, and for us only. Every cultured person knows that we were exiled from it, and we knew from all lands of exile, along all these years, as our enemies and haters knew as well, that we will return to it. Because it’s ours, and only ours. And we are its people, its only people. And for that reason, there never will be a Palestinian state in the land of Israel. Because there is no such thing as Palestinian people. There are no such people.”

I guess I’m not a cultured person. And I assume her parents didn’t teach her about sharing, or maybe she was an only child. A spoiled one. I wonder what kind of bedtime stories her parents told her.

More importantly, if there is no such thing as Palestinian people, where does that leave us? Who are these people Israel is fighting and killing? Whose homes are they destroying? Is there any room for peace?

If a people simply don’t exist, it seems that even apartheid isn’t an option. I can only think of two possible solutions: drive them out, or annihilate them.

Originally posted on https://maximumintifada.wordpress.com/