Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sparked controversy on Tuesday with a suggestion that a World War II-era Arab leader convinced the Nazis to adopt their Final Solution to exterminate European Jews. Speaking at the 37th World Zionist Congress on Tuesday, Netanyahu used a historical anecdote to illustrate his point that Palestinian incitement surrounding Jerusalem's Temple Mount goes back many decades. He said the World War II-era Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Nazi sympathizer Haj Amin al-Husseini, incited Arab attacks on Jews with lies that they planned to destroy the Temple Mount. Netanyahu said attacks on Jews in prestate Israel during the 1920s "were instigated by a call of the Mufti of Jerusalem Haj Amin al-Husseini, who was later sought for war crimes in the Nuremberg trials because he had a central role in fomenting the Final Solution. "He flew to Berlin. Hitler didn't want to exterminate the Jews at the time, he wanted to expel the Jews. And Haj Amin al-Husseini went to Hitler [in a 1941 meeting in Berlin] and said, 'If you expel them, they'll all come here.' 'So what should I do with them-' [Hitler] asked. [Husseini] said, 'Burn them.' And he was sought in, during the Nuremberg trials for prosecution. He escaped it and later died of cancer." Critics quickly pointed out that the extermination of the Jews was already underway when Hitler met with Husseini. Early Wednesday afternoon, Netanyahu clarified his statements. "I had no intention of absolving Hitler from his diabolical responsibility for the annihilation of European Jews," Netanyahu said. "Hitler was responsible for the Final Solution -- the extermination of 6 million Jews. He made the decision. "At the same time, it is absurd to ignore the role played by the mufti, Haj Amin al-Husseini, a war criminal who encouraged Hitler, [Joachim von] Ribbentrop, [Heinrich] Himmler and others to destroy the Jews of Europe." "There is much evidence of this, including the testimony of Eichmann's deputy at the Nuremberg trials." Netanyahu said the purpose of his anecdote about Husseini was to highlight the longstanding existence of Palestinian incitement against Jews. "The Palestinian incitement to kill Jews, which began with [Haj Amin al-Husseini], continues today ... For the murder to stop, the incitement must stop," the prime minister said.
Netanyahu: Hitler was responsible for Final Solution
PM Benjamin Netanyahu sparks controversy with suggestion that Haj Amin al-Husseini convinced Nazis to exterminate European Jews • PM clarifies: I had no intention of absolving Hitler from his diabolical responsibility for the murder of Europe's Jews.
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