European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has come under fire for once again reiterating far-right Israeli anti-Palestinian arguments in a video message to mark the 75th anniversary of the apartheid state. Von der Leyen is a German political figure who has held the position of president of the European Commission since 2019. She reported it Infopal.

“Today we celebrate 75 years of Israeli independence and friendship with Europe,” Von der Leyen said in a video message. “Seventy-five years ago, with Israel's Independence Day, a dream came true. After the greatest tragedy in human history, the Jewish people could finally build a home in the Promised Land,” continued Von der Leyen, without mentioning however that her country, Germany, was responsible for the crimes committed against five million of Jews killed.

“Today we celebrate 75 years of vibrant democracy in the heart of West Asia. Seventy-five years of dynamism, ingenuity and revolutionary innovations. You literally made the desert bloom,” added Von der Leyen, repeating the historic racist claim that Palestine was barren and empty until European Jewish settlers made it bloom. Von der Leyen ignored the fact that Palestine has a documented history of 4,000 years. Home to various indigenous communities, including Jews, Christians and Muslims, the inhabitants of the territory had a specific Palestinian identity. At the beginning of the 20th century, when the Zionist colonial conquest of Palestine began, more than 95% of the territory was inhabited by Muslim and Christian Palestinians.