Trump appointee: Palestinians are 'fundamentally evil' and not worthy of 'any mercy'

A Trump-appointed board member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council launched a vitriolic attack on Palestinians in Gaza on Saturday, saying they are "fundamentally evil" and not worthy of "any mercy".

In an editorial in The Jerusalem Post newspaper, Martin Oliner, who was elected to the council just days before the January 6 riots, defended the US president's recent remarks calling for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza to Arab countries such as Egypt and Jordan.

Oliner, who serves as chairman of Religious Zionists of America, president of the Culture for Peace Institute and is also a frequent columnist with The Jerusalem Post, said those concerned with the plight of the Palestinian people should be "gushing with praise for the president for caring enough to find them a positive resolution to their current problems".

He then added: "And those like myself who do not believe Gazans are worthy of any mercy should welcome it as well.

"Let's not mince words here. The people of Gaza are collectively guilty," he wrote, adding: "The actions of the Gazan people prove they need detoxifying education before the reconstruction should even be able to begin. They are fundamentally evil, and they must pay a price for their actions."

Read more: Trump appointee: Palestinians are 'fundamentally evil' and not worthy of 'any mercy'