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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday delivered a statement on the situation in Israel, following Hamas’ deadly terror attack over the weekend. The German leader said his country’s “only place” right now is at Israel’s side.
More than 1,200 people were killed in the large-scale attacks that saw thousands of rockets fired from Gaza and then hundreds of Hamas militants entering southern Israel.
What has Scholz said?
“Over 1,000 citizens of Israel have been killed in these terror acts. Thousands of them were severely injured and are fighting for their lives in the hospitals of Israel. In a country with 9 million inhabitants, that means that nearly everybody knows one of the victims. In the whole country of Israel currently, there is mourning … Dear friends in Israel, we mourn with you and we share your suffering,” Scholz said in a speech at the Bundestag.
Scholz slammed the actions of Hamas and said Israel was entitled to defend itself.
“We condemn the terrorists and we say very clearly, Israel has the right under international law to defend its citizens against such acts of barbarism,” Scholz said.
“The safety in Israel and for Israel must be restored and that is why Israel must have the capacity to defend itself. At the moment there is only one place for Germany, the place, side by side with Israel. This is what we mean when we say the security of Israel is Germany’s raison d’etre.”
Scholz warned countries in the region not to show hostility against Israel and said, “It would be a mistake to attack Israel, and that mistake would not be forgiven.”
Scholz said the Hamas attacks had repercussions and asked where was the condemnation from Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas.
“I say, your silence is a disgrace and all our development cooperation with Palestinians will be re-examined, and we will see how our projects can support peace in the region and support the security of Israel.
The chancellor’s address will be followed by a debate on the terror attack launched by Hamas, which has been designated as a terror organization by the EU, US and Israel, among other governments.
Scholz’s governing coalition of Social Democrats (SPD), Greens and the Free Democratic Party (FDP), as well as the opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU), are submitting a motion for a resolution that calls for Israel to be given “full solidarity and all support.”
Call for solidarity
On Wednesday Scholz called on Germans to show solidarity with the country’s Jewish population.
“I ask for the support of all citizens so that together we can guarantee the safety of our Jewish fellow citizens, and to do this we must show solidarity with them,” Scholz said on ARD television.
“We can’t accept it,” Scholz said, speaking of the anti-Semitic messages heard at pro-Palestinian demonstrations held in Germany.
kb/sms (AFP, DPA)
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