Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat on Sunday slammed remarks by the spiritual leader of Israel's leading ultra-Orthodox party, who said the Palestinians should "perish", saying that it was paramount to incitement to genocide.

Just ahead of renewed peace talks between Israel and the Palestine, an influential Israeli spiritual leader has denounced the move, dubbing the Palestinians and their leader "an evil and bitter enemies of Israel" who should " perish from this world."

But, Ovadia Yosef, spiritual head of the religious Shas party in the government, denounced the talks, scheduled to kickstart on September 2, and said, "Abu Mazen (nom de guerre for Abbas) and all these evil people should perish from this world,"

"God should strike them with a plague, them and these Palestinians," Rabbi Ovadia was quoted as saying during his weekly sermon at a synagogue near his Jerusalem home.

The Shas party mentor also called the Palestinians "evil, bitter enemies of Israel" during his speech, which is not the Rabbi's first sermon that has sparked controversy.

Earlier, in 2001, the spiritual leader of the ultra-Orthodox faction had called for "Arabs' annihilation".

"It is forbidden to be merciful to them. You must send missiles to them and annihilate them. They are evil and damnable," he was then quoted as saying.