RAMALLAH, May 4 (KUNA) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday offered an apology over earlier statements against Jews. Abbas was quoted by the Palestinian news agency as saying in a press statement that he respects the Jewish faith and condemns the Holocaust.The Palestinian leader said during a recent meeting of the Palestinian National Council (PNC) that the historic persecution of European Jews had been caused by their conduct, not by their religion. "If people were offended by my statement in front of the PNC, especially people of the Jewish faith, I apologize to them," Abbas said in the statement. "I'd like to assure everyone that it was not my intention to do so, and to reiterate my full respect for the Jewish faith, as well as other monotheistic faiths," he said. He also condemned anti-Semitism in all its forms, while reaffirming Palestinian commitment to the two-state solution.