Abbas says some Israeli rabbis called for poisoning Palestinian water

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas chairs a Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) executive committee meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah, May 4, 2016. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman - RTX2CU11

BRUSSELS/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israeli rabbis on Thursday of calling for the poisoning of Palestinian water, in what appeared to be an invocation of a widely debunked media report that recalled a medieval anti-Semitic libel.

The remarks drew strong condemnation from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who termed them a "blood libel", in a statement issued by his office.