Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu speaks during the opening ceremony of Holocaust Memorial Day at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the opening ceremony of Holocaust Memorial Day at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem April 27, 2014. Starting Sunday evening, Israel marks the annual memorial day commemorating the six million Jews killed by the Nazis in the Holocaust during World War Two. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

The annual Holocaust Memorial Day has started in Israel while the national leader is going to participate in the intense celebration. The ceremony will consist of commemorations of 24 hours at the Yad Vashem memorial on Sunday, April 27. German Nazis killed six million Jews in the Holocaust, which eventually eliminated one third of the entire Jewish population in the world.

Israel considers the annual Holocaust Memorial Day in an extremely solemn manner, Time reported. Places which provide entertainment, including cafes and restaurants, are closed down on this day. Programmes on TV and radio are almost entirely dedicated to the Holocaust and related documentaries, interviews and serious music. In the morning on Monday, April 28; Israel will come to a standstill when sirens moan for a couple of minutes. Pedestrians will stop on the road while moving in buses and cars as vehicles halt in the streets. Pedestrians will stand on streets while having their heads down.

Mahmoud Abbas, the president of Palestine, said that the Nazi Holocaust to eliminate the Jews population was "the most heinous crime" to have been committed against humanity. Abbas apparently asked to improve relations with Israel only days after the peace talks between the countries collapsed. Reuters reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on the other hand, rejected Abbas' proposal to improve ties between the countries.

Mr. Netanyahu said that Abbas should stop negotiating with Hamas, an Islamist group which was in denial of the Holocaust. The group apparently wants the destruction of Israel which is a Jewish country. Netanyahu asked Abbas to "tear up" the "pact with Hamas." Abbas' comment on the Holocaust, meanwhile, was published in both English and Arabic. It was rather a coincidence that his comment came just when Israel was supposed to commemorate the annual Holocaust Memorial Day. Abbas was quoted by WAFA while the apparently sympathetic comment was made by him at a meeting which was held with a U.S. rabbi one week back.