Hamas attack: Olaf Scholz affirms Germany's unwavering support for Israel

Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed Germany's unwavering support for Israel on Thursday, accusing Iran of enabling the "unprecedented" attack on the Jewish state through its support for Hamas in recent years and calling it "shameful » the silence of the Palestinian authority.

“Germany’s only place is with Israel,” the German leader said in a statement to deputies of the Bundestag, the lower house of Parliament. “Our own history, our responsibility resulting from the Holocaust imposes on us the permanent duty to defend the existence and security of Israel,” he added.

The chancellor spoke of Iran's indirect responsibility in the offensive launched on Saturday by the Palestinian terrorist movement, which left thousands dead on both sides and nearly 150 Israeli or foreign hostages, including Germans, detained in Gaza. “We have so far no tangible evidence that Iran concretely supported this cowardly attack by Hamas,” he admitted, however. “But it is clear to us that without Iranian support in recent years, Hamas would not have been able to launch unprecedented attacks on Israeli territory,” he said. The German Chancellor also strongly criticized the absence to date of “clear condemnation of terrorist violence” by the Palestinian authority and its President Mahmoud Abbas. “Their silence is shameful!” Scholz told the deputies.

Germany and its Western partners are striving to avoid “the apocalyptic scenario” of an escalation of the conflict and are calling on regional actors to refrain from any hostile acts towards Israel. “Our message is clear: it would be an unforgivable mistake to attack Israel,” he insisted. The chancellor said he was in close contact with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, who has dialogue channels in Gaza, and was due to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday.

Olaf Scholz also received the Emir of Qatar Tamim ben Hamad Al-Thani this Thursday. Berlin has already called on the emirate to use its contacts, particularly to help free the hostages. He also announced that he would welcome the Jordanian king “who plays a special role in Israeli-Palestinian relations” in Berlin next week. “In this dramatic situation, it would be irresponsible not to use all the contacts that can help,” he argued.

Olaf Scholz also announced that the Interior Ministry would issue a ban on activities deemed linked to Hamas in Germany. “An association like Samidoun, whose members celebrate the most brutal terrorist acts in the streets, will be banned in Germany,” he said. Some slip-ups occurred in Germany during pro-Palestinian demonstrations. On Saturday, the day of the Hamas offensive against Israel, the Berlin police reported in particular people “celebrating the attacks against Israel by distributing pastries” in the Neukölln district, where a large Muslim population lives.

Despite a ban on demonstrations, around a hundred people gathered again on Wednesday evening in Neukölln, in support of the Palestinians, in a tense atmosphere and supervised by large police forces. Germany gave Israel the green light on Wednesday to use two Heron TP combat drones and received requests from the Jewish state for naval artillery ammunition, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Thursday.

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“Israel has sent a request to the federal government for support for the use of up to two Heron TP drones” and “the Ministry of Defense has given its agreement for use in accordance with the request”, initially indicated its ministry. This green light comes at a time when Israel is organizing its counterattack in the Gaza Strip targeting the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which launched an unprecedented offensive against its neighbor on Saturday.

Germany has also received “first requests for naval artillery ammunition,” Boris Pistorius declared on Thursday on the sidelines of a meeting with his NATO counterparts in Brussels, without specifying their nature. “We will discuss this subject with the Israelis,” he said, adding that Germany would also “quickly” lend a hand in the health field.