PA Minister of Culture: Israel is “foreign element” stealing Palestinian history

PA Minister of Culture Atef Abu Saif: "This enemy [Israel] wants to remove this [Palestinian] people from existence… Since the appearance of the religions… [the land] has been called Palestine and we are called Palestinians. There is nothing else. We did not come to this country as a foreign element. This enemy [Israel] that stole the land wants to steal your existence in this land. He wants to steal your narrative. The blow to the Palestinian culture is a systematic blow… [Israel] arrests writers – as all the Nazi and fascist movements and all the dictatorial movements in history do… Our existence on this land negates their existence… The homes of the [Arab] residents of Jerusalem are the real ones, and not those of West Jerusalem, the Jewish Israeli buildings… It’s impossible that this thieving state, which is stealing the history of humanity- it’s absurd: In this small land, the first alphabet in history was invented. The first Palestinians, my ancestors and your ancestors, are the ones who invented letters, writing, and they are the ones who invented the colors… through the Phoenicians, our first seafaring ancestors. It’s absurd that this state [Israel] wants to steal all this history and erase it, and the world stands by silently."