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RIYADH: ��������’s Foreign Ministry condemned on Friday the “extremist statements” made earlier this week by Israeli official Bezalel Smotrich to erase the village of Huwara in Palestine.

The Ministry affirmed the Kingdom's “complete rejection” of the “racist and irresponsible statement,” which reflects the amount of “violence and extremism practiced by the occupying Israeli entity towards the brotherly Palestinian people,” in a statement released on Friday.

It also stresseed its demand for the international community to asssume its repsonsibilities to deter “these shameful practices, stop escalation, and provide the necessary protection to civilians.”

Smotrich, whose party has made claims it wants Israel to formally annex large parts of the West Bank, later backtracked on his remarks.

Meanwhile, the US demanded that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu disavow Bezalel’s call for the village to be erased.