Abbas: Holocaust 'most heinous crime' of modern history

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday termed the Holocaust "the most heinous crime" in modern history, hours before Israel marks its annual Holocaust Remembrance Day.

On Sunday night, Israel will begin its yearly Holocaust Remembrance Day to commemorate the mass-killing of Jews by Nazi Germany during World War II.

"What happened to the Jews in the Holocaust is the most heinous crime to have occurred against humanity in the modern era," Abbas was quoted by the Palestinian news agency WAFA as telling US rabbi Marc Schneier during a meeting last week in Ramallah.

According to the agency, the Palestinian leader expressed sympathy with the families of the victims and many other innocent people who were killed by the Nazi genocide.

"The Holocaust is a reflection of the concept of ethnic discrimination and racism which the Palestinians strongly reject and act against," Abbas was quoted as having told the American rabbi. "The Palestinian people, who suffer from injustice, oppression and denied freedom and peace, are the first to demand an end to the injustice and racism that befell other peoples subjected to such crimes."

The Palestinian leader also called on the Israeli government to "seize the opportunity" to bring about a just and comprehensive peace in the region, based on the two-state solution.

Later on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the Palestinian resistance group Hamas of "trying to start another Holocaust."

Netanyahu's comments follow Wednesday's announcement of a Fatah-Hamas unity deal. Some Israeli officials, including Netanyahu, have criticised the Palestinian reconciliation as a step backwards for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

"We hope that [Abbas] will withdraw from the alliance and return to the path of peace," Netanyahu said Sunday.