Secretary of State John Kerry, pictured here with Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat and Israeli negotiator Tzipi Livni. Photo: State Department.

Well, it is official: The Palestinian Arab leadership is accusing Israel of genocide.

After Mahmoud Abbas made the accusation and the State Department denounced it, PLO executive committee member Saeb Erekat confirmed that, no, it was not a misstatement – this is what the PLO really thinks.

Erekat said that “genocide was practiced by the Israeli government on the sons of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, and we will endeavor to hold accountable those who committed these crimes; we will not allow them to go unpunished.”

By the way, Abbas floated the idea of “genocide” back in July, when the war was a whole one day old. At the time I noted that no world leader was likely to censure Abbas for such incitement and, frankly, for being such an obvious liar.

Since the world coddled Abbas then, as it always does, he felt emboldened to say it to the world.

As long as the Western world continues to treat Palestinian Arab leadership like children who cannot be held responsible for their words and actions, they will continue to act like children who are not accountable to anyone. It is very simple psychology, but world leaders are so afraid of causing a temper tantrum (which means, a return to 1970s-type terrorism and oil embargos) that there are no penalties for inciting hate.

And, yes, accusing the Jewish State of “genocide” when it is defending itself is pure anti-Semitism.