RAMALLAH, Friday, March 15, 2019 (WAFA) – President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the killing of dozens of people in a mass shooting at two mosques full of worshipers attending Friday prayers in the New Zealand city of Christchurch.

“We condemn the terrorist attack that claimed the lives of dozens of worshipers and injured scores others at the two mosques in New Zealand,” Abbas said in his condemnation statement, and described the shootings as a “horrific and heinous criminal act”.

He called on all states worldwide to “confront terrorism and show zero-toleration for racist groups that incite violence, racial hatred and xenophobia.”

He reiterated his condemnation of “all forms of terrorism against innocent civilians, regardless of its source or the identity of the perpetrators.”

He extended his condolences for the victims’ families and wished speedy recovery for the wounded.

At least one gunman killed 49 people and wounded more than 40 during Friday prayers at two New Zealand mosques in the country’s worst ever mass shooting, which Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern condemned as terrorism.

K.F.