Berlin, Oct. 8, (dpa/GNA) – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has pledged Germany’s solidarity with Israel following the large-scale attacks by the Islamist Hamas that have killed at least 500.
Scholz on Sunday assured Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a telephone conversation “that Germany stands firmly and unwaveringly by Israel’s side in the face of this terrible attack.”
“The security of Israel is in Germany’s national interest. This is especially true in difficult hours like these. And we will act accordingly.”
Scholz called the Hamas attack “barbaric” and “outrageous.”
The chancellor said that he would still have extensive telephone conversations with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to discuss the situation.
Scholz also condemned pro-Palestinian celebrations in Berlin. “We do not accept it when the heinous attacks against Israel are celebrated here on our streets,” he said in Berlin on Sunday.
About 50 people had gathered in the Berlin district of Neukölln on Saturday evening for what police said was a pro-Palestinian demonstration.
Meanwhile, around 2,000 people joined a solidarity rally for Israel at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin on Sunday, according to preliminary police figures.
The crowd was largely quiet, but the silence was repeatedly broken by angry shouts, a dpa reporter said. Many participants demanded an end to support payments to Palestinians in the Middle East. Placards read, for example, “Peace and security for Israel, no financial aid for terrorists.”
German Development Minister Svenja Schulze on Sunday said her ministry wants to review its entire engagement for the Palestinian Territories in response to the attacks.
“We have already strictly ensured that our support for the people in the Palestinian Territories serves peace and not the terrorists. But these attacks on Israel are a terrible turning point,” Schulze said.
According to Schulze, German development commitments currently total €250 million ($264 million). Germany has so far been involved, for example, in water supply and sanitation, the health system, food security and job creation. There is no direct financing of the Palestinian authorities, the minister said.
GNA