US and Israeli officials have condemned Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas over alleged anti-Semitic comments, after he suggested the "social function" of Jews in the banking sector had led to past massacres.
Israel's foreign ministry today accused him of fuelling "religious and nationalist hatred against the Jewish people and Israel."
David Friedman, the US ambassador to Israel, said Abbas had reached a "new low" while President Donald Trump's envoy Jason Greenblatt said "peace cannot be built on this kind of foundation."
He then cited "three books" written by Jews as evidence that "hostility against Jews is not because of their religion, but rather their social function," adding he meant "their social function related to banks and interest."
Friedman said on Twitter late yesterday Abbas had "reached a new low in attributing the cause of massacres of Jewish people over the years to their 'social behaviour relating to interest and banks.'"
Greenblatt said the comments were "very unfortunate, very distressing & terribly disheartening," calling for them to be "unconditionally condemned by all." Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon told AFP Abbas's "anti-Semitism" was "all the more shocking considering that he presents himself as wanting to make peace with Israel."
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