Editing Mahmoud Abbas (section)

==Criticism and controversy==
===Corruption allegations===
Citing the 2012 corruption report by the Coalition for Accountability and Integrity, ''[[Al-Monitor]]'' characterized corruption in the [[Palestinian Authority]] as being "still rampant inside public Palestinian institutions despite the progress during the past year".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/05/report-corruption-palestine-institutions-gaza.html |title=Report Highlights Corruption In Palestinian Institutions |first=Hazem |last=Balousha |date=6 May 2013 |website=[[Al-Monitor]] |access-date=3 September 2024 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140803222918/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/05/report-corruption-palestine-institutions-gaza.html |archive-date=2014-08-03}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-04-24 |title=Corruption Report Recommends Holding Officials Accountable for not Implementing Court Decisions |url=https://www.aman-palestine.org/en/activities/566.html?_ri=1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140803222918/http://www.aman-palestine.org/en/activities/1305.html |archive-date=2014-08-03 |access-date=2024-10-09 |website=Coalition for Accountability and Integrity |language=en}}</ref>

In 2003, CBS News reported that [[Yasser Arafat]], Abbas's mentor and predecessor, had diverted nearly $1 billion in public funds to "insure his political survival".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/arafats-billions/ |title=Arafat's Billions: One Man's Quest To Track Down Unaccounted-For Public Funds |first=Tricia |last=McDermott |date=7 November 2003 |website=CBS News |access-date=3 September 2024}}</ref> In a 2006 report, the [[Congressional Research Service]] characterised the Palestinian public's dissatisfaction with institutional corruption as a factor that contributed to a win by Hamas in the January 2006 parliamentary election. It noted that Fatah leaders had been accused of siphoning funds from ministry budgets, passing out patronage jobs, accepting favors and gifts from suppliers and contractors.<ref>{{cite report |url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL33269.pdf |title=Palestinian Elections |first=Aaron D. |last=Pina |date=9 February 2006 |publisher=[[Congressional Research Service]], [[The Library of Congress]] |page=2 |access-date=3 September 2024}}</ref>

The source for specific allegations against Abbas was one of Arafat's most trusted aides, Mohammed Rashid, accused by the PA of embezzling hundreds of millions of dollars, who threatened to expose corruption scandals in the Palestinian Authority. For many years, Rashid served as Arafat's financial advisor and was given a free hand to handle hundreds of millions of dollars that were poured on the Palestinian Authority and the PLO by the [[United States|US]], the [[European Union|EU]] and [[Arab]] donors. According to Rashid, Abbas's net worth was {{currency|100|USD}}&nbsp;[[million]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/04/01/palestinian-authority-wants-ottawas-help-seizing-former-arafat-advisors-canadian-assets/ |title=Palestinian Authority wants Ottawa's help seizing former Arafat advisor's Canadian assets |first=Adrian |last=Humphreys |date=1 April 2013 |newspaper=[[National Post]] |access-date=9 June 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130624191649/http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/04/01/palestinian-authority-wants-ottawas-help-seizing-former-arafat-advisors-canadian-assets/ |archive-date=24 June 2013}}</ref>

On 10 July 2012, Abbas and his sons were attacked, in the [[United States Congress|US Congress]], for their alleged corruption. The debate was entitled ''Chronic Kleptocracy: Corruption Within the Palestinian Political Establishment.''<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/u-s-lawmakers-slam-mahmoud-abbas-for-alleged-corruption-1.450279 |title=U.S. lawmakers slam Mahmoud Abbas for alleged corruption |first=Natasha |last=Mozgovaya |date=11 July 2012 |newspaper=[[Haaretz]] |access-date=3 September 2024}}</ref> In his testimony before the [[House Committee on Foreign Affairs]], Subcommittee on Middle East and South Asia, [[Elliott Abrams]] stated that "Corruption is an insidious destroyer not only of Palestinian public finance but of faith in the entire political system. And it has certainly had an impact on potential donors. I can tell you from my own experience, as an American official seeking financial assistance for the PA from Gulf Arab governments, that I was often told 'why should we give them money when their officials will just steal it?'"<ref>{{cite web |url=https://cdn.cfr.org/sites/default/files/pdf/2012/07/Abrams.HFACTestimony_07092012.pdf |title=Chronic Kleptocracy: Corruption Within the Palestinian Political Establishment |first=Elliot |last=Abrams |date=10 July 2012 |website=[[Council on Foreign Relations]] |access-date=3 September 2024 |page=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-112hhrg74960/pdf/CHRG-112hhrg74960.pdf |title=Chronic Kleptocracy: Corruption Within The Palestinian Political Establishment: Hearing before the Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, One Hundred Twelfth Congress, Second Session |date=10 July 2012 |website=[[United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs]] |access-date=3 September 2024 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029003707/http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-112hhrg74960/pdf/CHRG-112hhrg74960.pdf |archive-date=29 October 2013}}</ref>

The conspicuous wealth of Abbas's own sons, Yasser and Tarek, has been noted in Palestinian society since at least 2009, when [[Reuters]] first published a series of articles tying the sons to several business deals, including a few that had U.S. taxpayer support.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL9347117 |title=Firms run by President Abbas's sons get US contracts |first=Adam |last=Entous |date=22 April 2009 |website=Reuters |access-date=3 September 2024}}</ref> In a ''[[Foreign Policy]]'' article, author [[Jonathan Schanzer]] suggested four ways in which the Abbas family has become rich. They include monopolies on American-made cigarettes sold in the territories; [[United States Agency for International Development|USAID]] funding; public works projects, such as road and school construction, on behalf of the Palestinian Authority; and special preferences for retail enterprises. It was strongly implied that the sons' lineage was the main credential in receiving these contracts.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2012/06/05/the-brothers-abbas/ |title=The Brothers Abbas: Are the sons of the Palestinian president growing rich off their father's system? |first=Jonathan |last=Schanzer |date=5 June 2012 |journal=Foreign Policy |access-date=3 September 2024}}</ref>

One of his sons, Yasser Abbas (but not brother Tarek or father Mahmoud), filed a {{USD|10}}&nbsp;million libel lawsuit in the United States District Court, District of Columbia, in September 2012 against Foreign Policy Group LLC and Schanzer alleging "false and defamatory statements. It seems every statement will be challenged, in a jury trial, if the court accepts jurisdiction."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://legaltimes.typepad.com/files/abbas-complaint.pdf |title=Yasser Abbas v. Foreign Policy Group LLC, Complaint for Defamation, Civil Action No. 12-cv-01565 |website=US District Court, District of Columbia |access-date=3 September 2024}}</ref> Abbas also accused Schanzer of not contacting him for comment and of relying on untrustworthy sources of information. Abbas accused Schanzer of acting with malice and pursuing an agenda against the brothers, even though he also contended that he's a private citizen and not a public figure, so we wouldn't need to prove actual malice to win.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2012/09/palestinian-presidents-son-sues-magazine-for-libel.html |title=Palestinian President's Son Sues Magazine for Libel |first=Zoe |last=Tillman |date=25 September 2012 |website=The BLT: The Blog of LegalTimes |access-date=3 September 2024}}</ref>

Some analysts believed the Abbas family would not proceed with the case as it would allow ''Foreign Policy'' and Schanzer to dig in too deep into the PA's secret finances and records.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2012/09/27/libel-suit-highlights-abbas-corruption/ |title=Libel Suit Highlights Abbas Corruption |first=Jonathon S. |last=Tobin |date=27 September 2012 |magazine=[[Commentary (magazine)|Commentary]] |access-date=9 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121204150135/http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2012/09/27/libel-suit-highlights-abbas-corruption/ |archive-date=2012-12-04}}</ref> However, the case proceeded.

In September 2013, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan dismissed the suit using D.C.'s anti-[[SLAPP]] measure. Sullivan determined the lawsuit intended to censor, intimidate, and silence critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense until they abandoned their criticisms or opposition.<ref name="Civ. Action No. 12-1565 (EGS)">{{cite web |url=https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2012cv1565-28 |title=Memorandum Opinion, Civ. Action No. 12-1565 (EGS) |first=Judge Emmet G. |last=Sullivan |date=27 September 2013 |website=US District Court for the District of Columbia |access-date=3 September 2024}}</ref> The decision has been appealed.<ref name="Josh Gerstein">{{cite web |url=http://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2013/10/palestinian-leaders-son-appeals-loss-of-foreign-policy-175772.html |title=Palestinian leader's son appeals loss of Foreign Policy libel lawsuit |last=Gerstein |first=Josh |date=23 October 2013 |website=[[Politico]] |access-date=3 September 2024}}</ref>

As part of the 2016 [[Panama Papers]] data leak, it was revealed that Abbas's son Tareq Abbas holds {{USD|1}} million in shares of an offshore company associated with the [[Palestinian Authority]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/1.713347 |title=Panama Papers: Leaks Reveal Abbas' Son's $1m Holding in Company With Ties to Palestinian Authority |first1=Uri |last1=Blau |first2=Daniel |last2=Dolev |date=7 April 2016 |newspaper=Haaretz |access-date=3 September 2024}}</ref>

In June 2021, hundreds of Palestinians held protests against the Abbas administration's corruption and brutality in central [[Ramallah]] (including one held at the president's headquarters) after anti-corruption activist [[Nizar Banat]] died in government custody.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Rasgon |first1=Adam |last2=Kershner |first2=Isabel |date=7 July 2021 |title=Critic's Death Puts Focus on Palestinian Authority's Authoritarianism |language=en-US |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/07/world/middleeast/Palestinian-Authority-protesters.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220106025538/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/07/world/middleeast/Palestinian-Authority-protesters.html%23commentsContainer |archive-date=6 January 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

One of the common claims made by detractors against his government is that it works effectively as a subcontractor for the Israeli government; in spite of his strong verbal criticism of the Israeli government, there is widespread disdain for his administration within the Palestinian Authority.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://theintercept.com/2023/09/15/palestinian-authority-mahmoud-abbas-oslo-accords/ |title=Mahmoud Abbas Holocaust Controversy Spotlights Deep Disillusion With Palestinian Authority |first=Alice |last=Speri |date=15 September 2023 |newspaper=[[National Post]] |access-date=3 September 2024}}</ref>

===Published works and statements about the Holocaust===
{{main|The Other Side: the Secret Relationship Between Nazism and Zionism}}
''The Connection between the Nazis and the Leaders of the Zionist Movement 1933–1945'' is the title of Abbas's [[Candidate of Sciences|CandSc]] thesis, which was completed in 1982 at the [[Peoples' Friendship University of Russia]], and defended at the [[Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences|Institute of Oriental Studies of the Soviet Academy of Sciences]].The dissertation and book discussed topics such as the [[Haavara Agreement]], in which the [[Jewish Agency for Israel|Jewish Agency]] signed a pact with [[Nazi Germany]] to facilitate Jewish emigration to Palestine.<ref name=kom>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.kommersant.ru/doc.aspx?DocsID=538949 |title=Аббас на глиняных ногах |trans-title=Abbas has feet of clay |first1=Mikhail |last1=Zigar |first2=Grigory |last2=Asmolov |date=17 January 2005 |magazine=[[Kommersant]]-Vlast |issue=605 |language=ru |page=56 |access-date=26 January 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://berkovich-zametki.com/2005/Zametki/Nomer11/Gorelik1.htm |title=Как товарищи Махмуд Аббас и Евгений Примаков Холокост отрицали |trans-title=How comrades Mahmoud Abbas and Yevgeny Primakov denied the Holocaust |first=Vadim |last=Gorelik |date=November 2005 |website=Notes on Jewish History |language=ru |access-date=26 January 2020}}</ref> Some content of his thesis has been considered as [[Holocaust denial]] by some Jewish groups,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1933453.stm |title=Profile: Mahmoud Abbas |date=5 November 2009 |website=[[BBC News]] |access-date=3 September 2024}}</ref> especially where he disputed the [[Holocaust victims|accepted number]] of Jews murdered in [[the Holocaust]] and claimed Zionist agitation had been the cause of the Holocaust.<ref name="wymaninstitute.org"/>

In 1984, he published a book titled ''The Other Side: the Secret Relationship Between Nazism and Zionism'' (Arabic: ''Al-Wajh al-Ākhar: Al-'Alāqat aL-Sirriyya bayn al-Nāzīyya wa al-Sahyūniyya'') based on the dissertation. In the book Abbas dismissed as a "myth" and "fantastic lie" that six million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust,<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/Abbas-shifts-stance-on-Holocaust-350526 |title=Abbas: Holocaust 'most heinous crime' in modern era |date=27 April 2014 |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |access-date=3 September 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WrDuCwAAQBAJ |title=Refuting the Anti-Israel Narrative: A Case for the Historical, Legal and Moral Legitimacy of the Jewish State |last=Havardi |first=Jeremy |date=29 March 2016 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-78649-881-9 |language=en}}</ref> writing that the real figure was at most "890,000" or "a few hundred thousand".<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tWJpAgAAQBAJ&q=Abbas |title=Genocide Denials and the Law |last1=Hennebel |first1=Ludovic |last2=Hochmann |first2=Thomas |date=9 February 2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19987-639-6 |page=117 |language=en}}</ref> The number of such deaths, he claimed, had been exaggerated for political purposes, writing "it seems that the interest of the Zionist movement ... is to inflate this figure so that their gains will be greater. This led them to emphasize this figure [six million] in order to gain the solidarity of international public opinion with Zionism. Many scholars have debated the figure of six million and reached stunning conclusions—fixing the number of Jewish victims at only a few hundred thousand."<ref name="wymaninstitute.org">{{cite web |url=http://www.wymaninstitute.org/articles/2003-03-denier.php |title=A Holocaust-Denier as Prime Minister of "Palestine"? |first=Rafael |last=Medoff |date=March 2003 |website=The David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies |access-date=26 January 2020}}</ref> When asked about this assertion in his book, Abbas replied some 10 years later that he had written the book when the Palestinians were at war with Israel, adding that "today I would not have made such remarks."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/11/international/middleeast/11ABBA.html |title=Man in the News; Soft-Spoken but Not Afraid to Voice Opinions – Mahmoud Abbas |first=Greg |last=Myre |date=11 March 2003 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=3 September 2024}}</ref> In a March 2006 interview with ''[[Haaretz]]'', Abbas stated:
<blockquote>I wrote in detail about the Holocaust and said I did not want to discuss numbers. I quoted an argument between historians in which various numbers of casualties were mentioned. One wrote there were 12&nbsp;million victims and another wrote there were 800,000. I have no desire to argue with the figures. The Holocaust was a terrible, unforgivable crime against the Jewish nation, a crime against humanity that cannot be accepted by humankind. The Holocaust was a terrible thing and nobody can claim I denied it.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/u-s-told-us-to-ignore-israeli-map-reservations-1.8840 |title=U.S. told us to ignore Israeli map reservations |first=Akiva |last=Eldar |date=28 May 2003 |newspaper=[[Haaretz]] |access-date=3 September 2024}}</ref></blockquote>

In August 2022, during a joint press conference with German Chancellor [[Olaf Scholz]] in [[Berlin]], Abbas was asked by an attending journalist if he would apologize for the 1972 [[Munich massacre]] of Israeli Olympic athletes by Palestinian terrorists. He responded that "If we want to go over the past, go ahead. I have 50 slaughters that Israel committed… 50 massacres, 50 slaughters, 50 holocausts." In an interview afterwards with the ''[[Bild]]'' tabloid, Scholz condemned Abbas's statements as a [[Trivializing the Holocaust|trivialization of the Holocaust]]. The remarks were also condemned by the [[Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs]].<ref>{{Cite web |last1=staff |first1=T. O. I. |last2=Agencies |title=In Berlin, Abbas says Israel committed 'holocausts' against the Palestinians; Scholz grimaces silently, later condemns remarks |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/in-berlin-abbas-skirts-apology-for-munich-attack-says-israel-committed-holocausts/ |access-date=3 September 2024 |work=The Times of Israel|date=16 August 2022 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=16 August 2022 |title=Palestinian President Abbas skirts apology for Munich attack |url=https://apnews.com/article/winter-olympics-sports-israel-germany-middle-east-1f2c2b601c4e4f48f88dff61b1a55271 |access-date=3 September 2024 |website=AP NEWS|first=Frank|last=Jordans |language=en}}</ref> Following an offense report for "relativizing the Shoah", in Berlin a criminal investigation was opened by police to determine if Abbas is guilty of [[Volksverhetzung]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 August 2022 |title=Berliner Polizei ermittelt gegen Abbas |url=https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/berlin-ermittlungen-polizei-abbas-101.html |access-date=3 September 2024 |website=Tagesschau|language=de}}</ref> The investigation was closed because Abbas enjoys diplomatic immunity.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/germany-closes-incitement-probe-into-abbass-50-holocausts-remark/|title=Germany closes incitement probe into Abbas's '50 holocausts' remark|first=Jacob|last=Magid|website=Times of Israel |date=23 November 2022 |access-date=3 September 2024}}</ref>

In August 2023, during a speech to the Fatah Revolutionary Council, Abbas claimed that Hitler killed Jews because of their "social role" as moneylenders, rather than out of antisemitism, and that Ashkenazi Jews are [[Khazar hypothesis of Ashkenazi ancestry|descendants of Khazars]]. His comments were condemned  by the United States, European Union, France, and Germany,<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Berman |first1=Lazar |first2= Jacob |last2=Magid |date=7 September 2023 |title=US antisemitism envoy and EU denounce Mahmoud Abbas's speech: Distorts the Holocaust |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/eu-abbass-holocaust-speech-fuels-antisemitism-insults-holocaust-victims/ |work=Times of Israel |language=en-US |access-date=3 September 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=2023-09-07 |title=US, France, Germany condemn Mahmoud Abbas' antisemitic comments |work=Al-Monitor |url=https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2023/09/us-france-germany-condemn-mahmoud-abbas-antisemitic-comments |access-date=3 September 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=2023-09-07 |title=Palestinian president condemned over holocaust remark |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/07/palestinian-president-condemned-mahmoud-abbas-holocaust-remarks |access-date=3 September 2024 |first=Peter |last=Beaumont}}</ref> while [[Mayor of Paris]] [[Anne Hidalgo]] rescinded Abbas's [[Medal of the City of Paris]] in response.<ref name="Parismedal2">{{cite news |date=2023-08-09 |title=Paris mayor strips Palestinian President Abbas of honour over Holocaust remarks |work=[[France 24]] |url=https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20230908-paris-mayor-strips-palestinian-president-abbas-of-honour-over-holocaust-remarks |access-date=3 September 2024}}</ref>