Top Israeli minister: ‘No such thing’ as Palestinian people

By LAURIE KELLMAN
Associated Press

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A firebrand Israeli minister says there’s “no such thing” as a Palestinian people. The remarks came as Israel’s new coalition government, its most hard-line ever, plowed ahead on Monday with a part of its plan to overhaul the judiciary. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition said it was pushing a key part of the overhaul — which would give the coalition control over who becomes a justice or a judge — before the parliament takes a monthlong holiday break next week. Also on Sunday, an Israeli and Palestinian delegation at a meeting in Egypt, mediated by Egyptian, Jordanian and U.S. officials, pledged to take steps to lower tensions roiling the region ahead of the sensitive holiday season.