Israel forges history, Jews have no heritage in Jerusalem - according to Egyptian official and PA TV host

• PA Minister of Foreign Affairs: Israel is “striving to destroy this [Palestinian] heritage, take control of it, and falsify the history that is witness to our people having been rooted in its land for over 10,000 years, which negates the settler Israeli colonialist narrative.”

Palestinian Authority leaders continuously falsify history claiming that Jews have no history in Jerusalem or in the entire area of the Land of Israel. 

To uphold this fictitious claim, the Palestinians need to invent a reason for the evidence of a Jewish history in the land, exemplified by the numerous archeological finds - including many with ancient Hebrew script on them – which testify to a Jewish presence, both in Jerusalem and the surroundings. Instead of acknowledging Jewish history and recognizing the authenticity of Jewish artifacts, the PA claims that Israel “steals” “Palestinian” archaeological finds and then forges Hebrew texts on them.

This denial is a crucial and necessary part of the Palestinian narrative in order for Palestinians to be able to claim “sole ownership” to the land based on a fabricated “exclusive” Palestinian history of thousands of years in it, as Palestinian Media Watch repeatedly has exposed. 

This libel denying the authenticity of the irrefutable evidence of thousands of years of Jewish history in the Land of Israel was recently repeated by an Egyptian official and a host on official PA TV, who both said that Israel is “forging” Jewish history: 

Egyptian Foreign Affairs Council member and former Foreign Minister’s Aide Raja Ahmed Hassan: “If they allow Israel to, it will attempt to change the situation on the ground, to change the cultural sites. It changes some of the existing archaeological findings and writes on them in Hebrew. It takes control of a large number of-“
Official PA TV host: “A forgery of history.”
Raja Ahmed Hassan: “A forgery which contradicts the UNESCO decisions. UNESCO has determined that neither Israel nor the Jews have any heritage in Jerusalem.”

[Official PA TV, The Cause in the Egyptian Halls, Oct. 7, 2019]

PA Minister of Foreign Affairs Riyad Al-Malki similarly stated at UNESCO’s general conference in November that Israel is “falsifying history” and “taking control” of “the Palestinian people’s past, heritage, and history”:

“Al-Malki said in a speech that he gave at the conference: ‘Palestine is the cradle of civilization and the religions, and its capital is Jerusalem on whose walls is engraved some of the Palestinian people’s past, heritage, and history. Israel, the occupying power, is striving to destroy this heritage, take control of it, and falsify the history that is witness to our people having been rooted in its land for over 10,000 years, which negates the settler Israeli colonialist narrative.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 1, 2019]

Recently, PMW reported that the PA’s Supreme Shari’ah Judge and Chairman of the Supreme Council for Shari'ah Justice, Mahmoud Al-Habbash, who is also a former advisor to PA Chairman Abbas, denied any presence of Jews in the Land of Israel, claiming Jews were brought in as “foreigners with no connection to the land.” Likewise, three Palestinian academics denied all archeological evidence of Jews in the area and said they “came as invaders 80 years ago.”  

The following is a longer excerpt of the report on Al-Malki’s speech denying Jewish history in the Land of Israel:

“The [PLO] Palestinian National Committee for Education, Culture, and Science concluded its participation… in the 40th session of the UNESCO (UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) general conference, which is convening in Paris, the capital of France…
Leading the delegation was [PA] Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Riyad Al-Malki…
Al-Malki said in a speech that he gave at the conference: ‘Palestine is the cradle of civilization and the religions, and its capital is Jerusalem on whose walls is engraved some of the Palestinian people’s past, heritage, and history. Israel, the occupying power, is striving to destroy this heritage, take control of it, and falsify the history that is witness to our people having been rooted in its land for over 10,000 years, which negates the settler Israeli colonialist narrative.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 1, 2019]

UNESCO (The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) passed a resolution in Paris on “Occupied Palestine” on Oct. 13, 2016, with 24 countries voting in favor, 6 against, and 24 abstentions. The resolution was later approved by UNESCO's World Heritage Committee on Oct. 26, 2016, in a secret ballot in which ten countries voted in favor of the resolution, two opposed, eight abstained, and one country, Jamaica, was absent.
In the resolution UNESCO refers to the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism, only as “Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif,” and presents it only as a “Muslim holy site.” The resolution condemns “escalating Israeli aggressions” and Israeli “violations” at the site, and calls on Israel “to respect the integrity, authenticity and cultural heritage of Al-Aqṣa Mosque/Al-Ḥaram Al-Sharif… as a Muslim holy site of worship.” The resolution likewise refers to the Western Wall Plaza as the “Al-Buraq Plaza ‘Western Wall Plaza,’” adding quotation marks to the Jewish name for the site.