Enlarge image
Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (archive photo)
Photo: Christian Spicker / imago images / Christian Spicker
Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas is calling for "not an inch of space for anti-Semitism" in Germany.
At the current hour in the Bundestag on the Middle East conflict, the SPD politician spoke out in favor of “countering anti-Semitic hate preachers, agitators and violent criminals here in our own cities with all the harshness of the German constitutional state - regardless of whether they have always lived here or are new to it have come here in recent years «.
Anti-Semitic slogans, among other things, had been chanted at demonstrations in Germany in the past few days.
The conflict between Israel and the Palestinians escalated again massively at the beginning of last week.
One of the triggers was the threat of eviction from Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem.
Since then, according to the Israeli army, around 3,700 rockets have been fired from the Gaza Strip towards Israel.
The Israeli army responded with air strikes on facilities owned by Hamas and other militant groups.
More than 230 people were killed, most of them Palestinians.
Maas once again condemned Hamas' "rocket terror" against Israel "in the strongest possible terms."
Israel has the right and the duty to defend itself.
The foreign minister called for an immediate halt to the attacks on Israel, an agreement on a ceasefire and subsequent direct talks between Israelis and Palestinians to find a solution to the conflict.
Such a solution must enable both sides to live independently.
"We are therefore firmly convinced that this can only be a negotiated two-state solution."
"Hamas deliberately brought about this escalation, with dire consequences for the Israelis and Palestinians, especially the people in the Gaza Strip," said Maas.
In his speech to the MPs, the Foreign Minister also addressed points of criticism against Israel: "When we talk about de-escalation, we naturally also address the Israeli settlement construction in the occupied territories and the planned evictions of Palestinian homes" in East Jerusalem.
as / AFP / dpa
