A Palestinian official has claimed that Arabs have inhabited Jerusalem for over 1.5 million years, while Jews have only been in the region for 6000.

At an event in Algeria, the Palestinian National Council President Rawhi Fattouh spoke of Jerusalem belonging “exclusively to the Palestinians, the Arabs and the Muslims.”

He said: “Palestine in its entirety belongs to us, and to no one else. We do not share it with anyone. Humans appeared in Palestine 1.5 million years ago. The first human civilization appeared in the ancient caves on Mount Carmel, in Palestine.

“The first Kebaran civilization and the first Kebaran engineering civilization appeared in the Kebara Cave, 60,000 years ago. Our Jebusite forefathers built Palestine – and especially Jerusalem – in 5,000 BC.

“Yesterday, Netanyahu, the prime minister of the extreme right, fascist government of Israel held a meeting at the Al-Buraq (Western Wall) to say: 'We have been here on this land for 3,000 years.'

"This is what Netanyahu says. We say that we have been here for more than 1.5 million years."

The oldest human fossils that Archaeologists have found date to around 300,000 years ago, 1.2m years later than Fattouh's claim.

Despite this well-documented fact, Palestinians have inhabited Jerusalem for over 1.5 million years, the National Council President claimed.

Palestinian National Council President Rawhi Fattouh: Netanyahu Said that the Jews Have Been in Jerusalem for 3,000 Years – We, On the Other Hand, Have Inhabited This Land for Over 1.5 Million Years #Palestinians pic.twitter.com/H398ArDE3h

— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) June 5, 2023

In January, Israel revoked entry permits for Rawhi Fattouh and two other senior officials from Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party after they all visited Karim Younis, a Palestinian citizen of Israel released from prison after serving a 40-year sentence on terrorism charges for killing an Israeli soldier.