Abbas Did Not Shift His Position on the Holocaust – Yair Rosenberg
(dailyalert.org, Apr. 29, 2014)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ 1982 PhD dissertation, published as “The Other Side: The Secret Relationship Between Nazism and Zionism,” famously argues that the Zionists collaborated with the Nazis in order to spur more Jewish immigration to Palestine. It also claims that the figure of six million dead has been exaggerated for political gain, and suggests one million as a more reasonable estimate.

According to the New York Times, on Sunday Abbas called the Holocaust “the most heinous crime to have occurred against humanity in the modern era.” But ťhe said pretty much the exact same thing toHa’aretz in 2003: “The Holocaust was a terrible thing and nobody can claim I denied it.” In fact, Abbas has acknowledged the reality of the Holocaust for decades. He just thinks that the Jews helped perpetrate it, and he has never repudiated this stance. (Tablet)

See also The Times’ Goof on Abbas’ “Shift” – Eric Fettmann

Abbas’ statement served as a handy distraction from his just-announced reconciliation with Hamas. All in all, his statement is little more than a cynical repackaging of past statements that was spoon-fed to credulous reporters and would-be peacemakers. (New York Post)