Benjamin Netanyahu has accused the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, of antisemitism after he claimed past massacres including the Holocaust were related to the “social function” of Jews in banking.

Abbas, 82, made the comments during a wide-ranging speech, which also drew condemnation from the United States and the European Union.

“Once a Holocaust denier, always a Holocaust denier,” the Israeli prime minister said of Abbas on Twitter on Wednesday. “I call upon the international community to condemn the grave antisemitism of Abu Mazen [Abbas’s nickname], which should have long since passed from this world.”