Palestinians blast European Commission president for saying Israel ‘made desert bloom’

Palestinians from across the political spectrum condemned European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen over the weekend for saying that Israel has “made the desert bloom.”

Her statement was included in a special message posted on Twitter by the European Union Delegation to Israel to celebrate 75 years of Israel’s independence and friendship with Europe.

“Today, we celebrate 75 years of vibrant democracy in the heart of the Middle East,” she said. “Seventy-five years of dynamism, ingenuity, and groundbreaking innovations. You have literally made the desert bloom.”

The PA denounced von der Leyen

The Palestinian Authority denounced the remarks as “racist” and demanded that the European Commission president apologize to both European citizens and the Palestinian people.

“The State of Palestine rejects the inappropriate, false, and discriminatory remarks by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, particularly the ‘made the desert bloom’ anti-Palestinian racist trope,” the Palestinian Foreign Affairs Ministry said. “Such propagandist discourse dehumanizes and erases the Palestinian people and falsifies their rich history and civilization.”

Today we celebrate 75 years of Israel's independence and friendship with Europe. A special message from President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen: pic.twitter.com/TCi7GpfQWm

— EU in Israel (@EUinIsrael) April 26, 2023

According to the ministry, “such a narrative perpetuates the continued and racist denial of the Nakba (catastrophe – reference to the establishment of Israel) and whitewashes Israel’s illegal occupation and apartheid regime.”

The ministry warned that “such adoption of anti-Palestinian rhetoric undermines the European Union’s standing and casts serious doubts on its declared commitment to international law and human rights.”

Hamas officials accused the European Commission president of “hypocrisy.”

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said that von der Leyen’s message to Israel “on the anniversary of its founding on the ruins of our occupied Palestinian land represents the height of hypocrisy and bias in favor of the occupation.”

Abu Zuhri said that the message of congratulations to Israel “expresses the denial of the rights of our Palestinian people and the ignoring of their historical presence in the homeland.”

He added that the message “raises questions about the nature of the European position towards the conflict in Palestine.” The Hamas official further accused the European Commission president of misleading and provoking the Palestinians by saying that Israel is a democracy.”

Basem Naim, head of the Hamas Political and External Affairs Department, said that the message Ursula von der Leyen sent to Israel “expresses a lot of political hypocrisy and ignorance of history.”

Naim said in a statement that the establishment of Israel 75 years ago “was not a dream come true, but rather a nightmare that is still hanging over the hearts of the Palestinian people, who are still paying the price for this sin committed by Western countries.”

Naim noted that “those who persecuted and tortured the Jews were Europe and its countries.” These Jews, he said, “did not find a safe place except in our Arab and Islamic countries. Do not atone for your sins at the expense of our people and their future.”

The Hamas official accused the European Commission president of “repeating lies promoted by the leaders of the Zionist enterprise.” He added: “Palestine was never a desert that blossomed during the era of Israeli barbarism. Thousands of years ago, Palestine was the cradle of civilizations, the meeting point of coexistence, and the path for science and progress.”

PFLP joins condemnations

The PLO’s Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) called on von der Leyen and the European Union to apologize to the Palestinian people for their “unlimited support for the Zionist entity.”

The PFLP condemned the message congratulating Israel on Independence Day as “criminal, biased in favor of the Zionist entity, and disgraceful.” According to the PFLP, the message contains “lies and discriminatory phrases and proves once again that the European Union is a partner to the Zionist entity in its aggression and occupation.”

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit also condemned the European Commission president’s remarks, dubbing them “offensive to the Palestinians and their historical suffering.”