Palestinian president sorry for offending Jews

Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, yesterday apologised after he was accused of anti-semitism for suggesting that historic persecution of European Jews had been caused by their conduct, specifically banking practices, not by their religion.

Mr Abbas condemned anti-semitism and called the Holocaust the “most heinous crime in history” in a statement issued by his office after a meeting of the Palestinian National Council at which he had made the remarks. “If people were offended by my statement, especially people of the Jewish faith, I apologise to them,” Mr Abbas, 82, said. “I reiterate my full respect for the Jewish faith.”