In 1969 saying there were no such thing as a Palestinian, is not especially controversial. The Palestinians only adopted that identity in the 1960s. Before that it was considered a Zionist term rejected and they were either South Syrians or, for some, Jordanians. Golda Meir would have grown up knowing of the the Palestinian football team(all Jews), Palestinian Post(run by Jews) and so on. But by 1969 it was clear to most that Palestinians existed- that is if they didn't exist before they existed by Israel's efforts and those of Israel's neighbours to create a people treated differently from surrounding Arabs. But older people are hardly great at adapting to new terminology, my own father harping on about the change in meaning of 'gay'. Of course gay people existed before that term, they just weren't called that.