Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's assertion that a Palestinian mufti was responsible for the Holocaust risks undermining congressional efforts to lay the blame for the current violence squarely at the feet of the Palestinians.

The Israeli leader's comment Oct. 20 before the World Zionist Congress that Adolf Hitler only wanted to expel the Jews of Europe before Haj Amin al-Husseini urged him to "burn them" provoked outrage across the political spectrum in Israel. It also complicates efforts by Israel's allies in the United States to place the blame for incitement solely on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. 

"I think it does further erode an already damaged credibility for Bibi Netanyahu," said Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The panel is scheduled to vote Oct. 22 on a resolution denouncing "incitement within the Palestinian Authority" following a hearing on the same topic.

Netanyahu's comment "certainly adds another dimension that needs to be considered as we consider the resolution," said Connolly. "I don't know that it takes away from the point that violence against civilians simply because of their ethnicity or the religion — there's no excuse for that."