Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Tuesday described Jews as "hook-nosed" and blamed them for creating the troubles in the Middle East.
Mahathir, 93, who became the world's oldest head of government after starting his second stint as prime minister of Muslim-majority Malaysia in May, has for decades been accused of anti-Semitism, attacking Jews and accusing them of perpetrating a humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territories.
"If you are going to be truthful, the problem in the Middle East began with the creation of Israel. That is the truth. But I cannot say that," he said in an interview on BBC's Hard Talk.
Calling Israelis "special," Mahathir challenged historical accounts that 6 million Jews were killed in the Holocaust, saying the figure was 4 million.
He described Jews as "hook-nosed" in his book "The Malay Dilemma." Asked why, he said, "They are hook-nosed. Many people called the Malays fat-nosed. We didn't object, we didn't go to war for that."
The U.S.-based Anti-Defamation League, which fights anti-Semitism, was not immediately available for comment but in a tweet in May said Mahathir had a "decades-long record of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories."
"The world cannot accept this from any leader," the ADL said.
Last week, Mahathir addressed the U.N. General Assembly in New York and said the world "rewards Israel" for breaking international laws and committing acts of terrorism against Palestinians.
