“Fight against the new Nazis”
Netanyahu thanks Scholz
October 17, 2023, 6:02 p.m
Chancellor Scholz is traveling to Tel Aviv before US President Biden. In Israel, the solidarity visit after the terrorist attack by the Islamist Hamas is greeted with gratitude. Israel’s prime minister sees his country in the fight against the new Nazis.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz has assured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Germany’s solidarity and support in the face of Hamas terror. At a joint press conference in Tel Aviv in the afternoon, Scholz said: “This is a visit to friends in difficult times. The security of Israel and its citizens is a matter of state.” The SPD politician once again strongly condemned the attack by Hamas terrorists on October 7th. “Israel has the right to defend itself against this terrorism,” said Scholz. This is documented under international law. He promised Netanyahu to protect Jewish institutions in Germany. “Jewish life in Germany is a gift,” said Scholz.
Scholz warned other countries not to interfere in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. The Federal Government is doing everything it can to ensure that this conflict does not escalate. “It is important to prevent a wildfire in the region,” said Scholz in Tel Aviv. “I expressly warn: no actor should consider it a good idea to intervene in this conflict from outside,” he added, without mentioning Iran or Hezbollah by name. “It would be a serious, unforgivable mistake. Over the past few days we have conveyed this message through various channels to those to whom it is addressed.”
Worst crime against Jews since the Holocaust
Israel’s prime minister described the Hamas terrorist attack as the “worst crime against Jews since the Holocaust.” People were beheaded, children were shot with their hands tied behind their backs or in front of their parents. Holocaust survivors were also abducted to the Gaza Strip by Hamas terrorists.
Netanyahu compared the actions of the Hamas attackers to the Babyn Yar massacre. In the narrow gorge of Babyn Yar on the former outskirts of Kiev, the National Socialists shot dead on 29/30. September 1941 more than 33,000 Jewish men, women and children. “This is an atrocity that we only remember from the Nazi crimes during the Holocaust,” Netanyahu said. “Hamas are the new Nazis.” He also compared the organization to the terrorist network Islamic State (IS). Netanyahu demanded that the world must help Israel destroy Hamas. He thanked Scholz for his visit to Israel and his solidarity.
According to Scholz, he wants to discuss “concrete practical questions” in Israel, such as the security situation in the country and the organization of humanitarian aid. In addition to the meeting with Netanyahu, the Chancellor’s program includes talks with President Isaac Herzog and the opposition politician Benny Gantz, who joined Netanyahu’s emergency government last week. A meeting is also planned with relatives of German hostages who are being held in the Gaza Strip.