Mahmoud Abbas at Paris counter-terror rally (file)
Mahmoud Abbas at Paris counter-terror rally (file)Reuters

Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz (Likud) slammed Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas at a conference in Washington DC on Sunday night, accusing him of being the "leader of anti-Semitism in the world."

"Any discussion of Abbas's part in the terror will only reduce his actual involvement. He is the number one inciter in the world against Israel and the Jewish people. In terms of the level and strength of incitement, he's worse than (Yasser) Arafat," said Steinitz.

"Abbas is careful not to be directly involved and connected to terror, so as not to get himself 'dirty,'" said the minister. "He appears to speak against terror, but when he speaks to  his people he passes a clear message of opposition to Jews in general, and the state of Israel in particular. He is the main guilty party for the current wave of terror."

Illustrating Steinitz's accusations, Abbas last month called for violence to block Jewish "filth" from the Temple Mount, and the day before the first major attack in the current wave of terrorism, he appeared at the UN where he effectively canceled the 1994 Oslo Accords.

"There is a very great resemblance between the Palestinian incitement of Abbas against Israel, and the Nazi incitement that called to destroy the Jews," stated Steinitz.

In a message to US President Barack Obama's administration, which has been pressing for a resumption of peace talks, he added, "in the current situation, it is impossible to view Abbas as a partner. There is no point in speaking now about a peace process, as long as the incitement doesn't end."

"It's impossible to be neutral in the current situation. When one side incites and praises terrorists and creates evil blood libels, there is no room for symmetrical treatment," he added.

In a reference to the State Department's condemnation of Israel's defense of itself last week, Steinitz concluded by saying, "I expect the Americans and the entire international community to condemn the acts of murder, and in parallel to completely stop this shocking incitement."