German Chancellor Scholz has called for solidarity with Germany's Jewish citizens. Wednesday saw the Bundestag commemorate the victims of the Hamas terror attack with a minute's silence.
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.
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.
Source: Dw
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