Dani Dayan
Dani DayanGershon Elinson/Flash90

Dani Dayan, chairman of Yad Vashem, on Tuesday blasted Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas, after he accused Israel of committing “holocausts” against Palestinian Arabs during a meeting in Berlin with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

“Mahmoud Abbas' despicable words in Berlin today about ‘50 holocausts’ are appalling. The German government must respond appropriately to this inexcusable behavior done inside the Federal Chancellery,” Dayan wrote on Twitter.

Abbas had used the English word "holocausts" when responding to a question regarding the Munich Massacre of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympic games by Palestinian Arab terrorists.

The PA chairman dismissed a question over whether he would apologize for the massacre and said: “I have 50 slaughters that Israel committed….50 massacres, 50 slaughters, 50 holocausts,”

Chancellor Scholz was visibly upset at Abbas' remarks and scowled. He did not respond at the time, but later said that hearing the word from Abbas was "unbearable."

Prime Minister Yair Lapid later blasted Abbas over the comments, saying, “Mahmoud Abbas accusing Israel of having committed ‘50 Holocausts’ while standing on German soil is not only a moral disgrace, but a monstrous lie.”

“Six million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust, including one and a half million Jewish children. History will never forgive him,” he added.

Germany’s ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, also condemned Abbas over the comments.

“What President Abbas said in Berlin about ‘50 holocausts’ is wrong and unacceptable,” he tweeted.

“Germany will never stand for any attempt to deny the singular dimension of the crimes of the Holocaust,” stressed Seibert.