Factcheck: Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu made remarks about Hitler and Muslim Grand Mufti in 2015
London: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s controversial remarks about Hitler and Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini have been widely circulated social media websites in some Muslim countries, years after he actually made the comments.
The prime minister had sparked public uproar in October 2015 when he said Hitler wanted to expel Jews and had no intention of killing them.
He said it was the Muslim cleric who planted the idea of the extermination of European Jews in Adolf Hitler’s mind.
According to Netanyahu, when Hitler asked the Mufti what should he do with the Jews, Al Husseni told him, “burn them” because they would eventually come to the Middle East.
It’s not immediately known why the video of his old remarks has gone viral but it came at a time when several Muslim states are normalizing ties with the Jewish state.
The clip resurfaced as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Netanyahu would visit Turkey in the coming months.
Rightwing elements feel betrayed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the laders of the UAE and other Arab countries.
The UAE was the first Arab state to open diplomatic relations with Israel in almost three decades in a U.S.-brokered deal.
An Israeli minister on Tuesday arrived in Saudi Arabia as part of the normalization efforts.
Palestinian officials have treated the potential normalization deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel with scepticism.
Iran, Syria and Lebanon’s Hezbollah are also not likely to support any normalization of relations between the Jewish state and Sunni Arab countries.