Germany summons Palestinian representative over Abbas' Holocaust comment

[August 17, 2022]   BERLIN (Reuters) - The German chancellery summoned the head of the Palestinian diplomatic mission in Berlin on Wednesday to protest Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' comparison of Israeli actions with the Holocaust, a German government spokesperson said.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attends a news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, in Berlin, Germany, August 16, 2022. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

"It is clear for us, the government and the chancellor, that the persecution and systematic murder of 6 million European Jews is an unparalleled crime against humanity," the spokesperson said at a regular news conference in Berlin.

During a visit to Berlin on Tuesday, Abbas accused Israel of committing "50 Holocausts" in response to a question about the upcoming 50th anniversary of the attack on the Israeli team at the Munich Olympics by Palestinian militants.

(Reporting by Miranda Murray and Rachel More; Editing by Paul Carrel)

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