On Sunday, the Gulf Cooperation Council countries announced that they had sent a letter to the US Secretary of State to denounce the statements of an Israeli minister who denied the existence of a Palestinian people.

In a letter to Minister Anthony Blinken, the foreign ministers of the six-nation bloc denounced the statements of the far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich about the need to "erase" the Palestinian town of Hawara, which witnessed the killing of two Israelis by a suspected Hamas activist.

In its message published on its website Sunday, the Council called on the United States of America to assume its responsibilities in responding to all measures and statements that target the Palestinian people.

He also urged the US administration to "do its part to reach a just, comprehensive and lasting solution" to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Last week, the United States described Smotrich's remarks as "insulting" and "dangerous".

It also expressed its "grave concern" over the Israeli parliament's cancellation of part of a law that prevents settlers from residing in areas in the occupied West Bank that the Israeli government had evacuated in 2005, considering the decision to be "provocative."

The Gulf Cooperation Council, whose foreign ministers met in Riyadh last week, includes six countries: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait.

The UAE and Bahrain normalized their relations with Israel in 2020 under the "Abraham Accords" sponsored by the United States.