Berlin (dpa) – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has promised Israel Germany’s complete solidarity in response to the large-scale attack by the Islamist Hamas group. Scholz said that he had assured Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a telephone conversation “that Germany stands firmly and unwaveringly by Israel’s side in the face of this terrible attack”. In his statement at the Federal Chancellery, he emphasised: “The security of Israel is Germany’s reason of state. This is especially true in difficult hours like these. And we will act accordingly.”
The chairpersons of the governing and union parties likewise stressed Germany’s ties with Israel. “The security of the state of Israel is an obligation for us and Germany’s reason of state,” declared the leaders of the SPD, Greens, FDP, CDU and CSU. “We are connected to our partners and friends in Israel not only historically, but also in a democratic community of values.”
German Development Minister Svenja Schulze announced that her ministry would now “review its entire engagement for the Palestinian territories”. She said that the German government had always been careful to check that the support for the people in the Palestinian territories was used only for peaceful means and would not benefit terrorists. “But these attacks on Israel mark a terrible fracture,” she said. According to Schulze, German development pledges currently total 250 million euros. She added that no funding is made directly available to the Palestinian National Authority. This was also stressed by the Federal Foreign Office.
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