Secretary of State Hillary Clinton waded into a question that figured heavily in the last Republican debate, as she said that Newt Gingrich’s description of the Palestinians as an “inventented” people did not help Israel or the peace process.
“No. No,” Clinton answered today when asked if “what Newt Gingrich said about the ‘invented people of Palestine’ [was] helpful” to Israel. “And I think he recognized that, from what I read. I think he realized that was one of those innovative moments that happens in politics.”
Gingrich actually defended the comments during a recent Republican debate. “Is what I said factually correct? Yes,” he said. “Is it historically true? Yes. We are in a situation where everyday rockets are fired into Israel while the United States – the current administration – tries to pressure the Israelis into a peace process.”
Palestinian officials accused Gingrich of “racism” and compared his comments to “a Nazi ideology.”
