We're responsible for Holocaust, not Palestinian mufti - Germany on Netanyahu remarks

"All Germans know the history of the murderous race mania of the Nazis that led to the break with civilization that was the Holocaust," Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said when asked about Netanyahu's Tuesday remarks.

"This is taught in German schools for good reason: it must never be forgotten. And I see no reason to change our view of history in any way. We know that responsibility for this crime against humanity is German and very much our own,” he said on Wednesday, as quoted by Reuters.

#Netanyahu under fire after accusing Palestinian grand mufti of inciting Holocaust http://on.rt.com/6ucu

The comments came just one day after Netanyahu referenced a meeting between Adolf Hitler and Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini in Berlin in 1941, stating that the meeting was instrumental in the Nazi leader's decision to exterminate Jews.

"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 and said, 'If you expel them, they'll all come here,'” Netanyahu said during a speech to the Zionist Congress.

His statements sparked a wave of criticism from Palestinians and opposition leaders, as well as from those on social media.

It comes amid increased tensions between Israel and Palestine. Ten Israelis have been killed in a recent wave of stabbing attacks by Palestinians. In that same time period, 46 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire.