Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas yesterday apologised for alleged anti-Semitic comments that drew global condemnation.

"If people were offended by my statement at the Palestinian National Council, especially people of the Jewish faith, I apologise to them," he said in a statement, days after appearing to suggest Jewish behaviour, including money lending, led to their persecution in Europe.

The English-language statement added he wanted "to reiterate our long held condemnation of the Holocaust, as the most heinous crime in history”.

"We condemn anti-Semitism in all its forms, and confirm our commitment to the two-state solution, and to (living) side by side in peace and security." It did not specifically apologise for his claim about Jewish persecution. Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman immediately rejected the statement on Twitter.

Abbas "is a pathetic Holocaust denier who wrote a doctorate about Holocaust denial and then a book about Holocaust denial," he said. "His apology is not accepted." Monday's comments sparked global anger, with the United States, United Nations, European Union and others criticising them, as well as Israeli leaders.