JERUSALEM — Israel is gearing up for a visit from the Philippines president, who in the past compared his bloody anti-drug crackdown to Hitler and the Holocaust.
A government statement Friday said Rodrigo Duterte will meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and tour the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial early next week.
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Duterte drew outrage in 2016 when he compared his anti-drug campaign to the Nazi genocide of Jews in World War II and said he would be "happy to slaughter" 3 million addicts. He later apologized.
Duterte, a 73-year-old former government prosecutor, denies condoning extrajudicial killings but has openly threatened drug dealers with death.
Philippine police say more than 4,500 suspects have been killed in anti-drug raids since Duterte took office in 2016. Rights groups say the death toll is much higher.