Nickolay E. Mladenov, the United Nations special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, said such statements were “unacceptable, deeply disturbing and do not serve the interests of the Palestinian people or peace in the Middle East,” and he accused Mr. Abbas of perpetuating the conspiracy theories that fuel anti-Semitism.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel called Mr. Abbas a “Holocaust denier,” and the speech prompted some liberal Israelis to rule Mr. Abbas out as a partner for peace.
“No Israeli prime minister can negotiate with someone who holds views like Abu Mazen,” Shlomo Avineri, a professor emeritus of political science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said after the speech, referring to Mr. Abbas by his nickname.
Gilad Erdan, the country’s public security minister, said on Twitter that the “apology” — he put the word in quote marks, as if to mock Mr. Abbas’ sincerity — revealed distorted thinking and political opportunism. “He should start by making it clear that his revolting remark about the reasons for the Holocaust was a racist blood libel, and simply ask for forgiveness,” he added.
The uproar over the speech by Mr. Abbas reverberated on Friday at the 15-member United Nations Security Council, where the United States ambassador, Nikki R. Haley, submitted a statement subject to unanimous approval describing the speech as reprehensible and calling on him to “refrain from anti-Semitic comments.” Security Council diplomats said Kuwait, a nonpermanent member, objected to the statement, arguing that Mr. Abbas already had apologized, so it failed.
Ms. Haley reacted angrily. “Disgusting anti-Semitic statements from the Palestinian leadership obviously undermine the prospects for Middle East peace,” she said. “When the Security Council cannot reach consensus on denouncing such actions, it only further undermines the U.N.’s credibility in addressing this critical issue.”
Mr. Abbas has been accused of anti-Semitism, and reversed himself on the issue, in the past.
During a speech to the European Parliament in 2016, he accused rabbis in Israel of calling for their government to poison the water used by Palestinians, echoing a libel that led to the mass killings of Jews in medieval times. Barely a day later, he retracted the allegation, saying it had become “evident” that it was “baseless.”
Source : Nytimes
