Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., issued the following statement today in regards to Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich’s comments on the Jewish Channel television network regarding the Palestinian people:

"Newt Gingrich is wrong to think his attempt to turn the Palestinians into a non-people with no claim to a state will appeal to his audience on the Jewish Channel on which they are apparently to be aired on Monday.

"The vast majority of American Jews (including this one) and the Israeli Government itself are committed to a two-state solution in which Israelis and Palestinians live side-by-side as neighbors and in peace.

"Gingrich’s cynical efforts to attract attention to himself with divisive and destructive statements will not help his presidential ambitions since they are aimed at putting the peace between Israel and the Palestinians that Americans yearn for even further out of reach than it is today.

"Gingrich offered no solutions – just a can of gasoline and a match."