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During a visit to Berlin, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas used the chancellery stage to make serious allegations against Israel.
Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian President:
"From 1947 to the present day, Israel has 50 massacres in 50 Palestinian villages and towns, Deir Yasin, Tantura, Kafr Qassim and many more, 50 massacres, 50 holocausts."
And Olaf Scholz?
He stood next to it and initially left the statements uncommented.
There was also sharp criticism of the Chancellor for this.
He then responded on Wednesday morning – on Twitter.
He was "deeply outraged by the unspeakable statements made by Palestinian President Mahmoud #Abbas." Especially for Germans, "any relativization of the Holocaust is intolerable and unacceptable."
Scholz "condemns any attempt to deny the crimes of the Holocaust."
Before giving his testimony, Abbas was asked by a journalist whether he would apologize to Israel on the 50th anniversary of the attack on the Israeli Olympic team by Palestinian terrorists in Munich.
But Abbas didn't go into the assassination at all.
Instead, he made further accusations against Israel in the course of the Holocaust testimony.
Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian President:
»Every day to this day we have dead people killed by the Israeli forces.
Our demand is: Stop, that's enough!
Please let us find peace.
Let's please look forward to safety together, look to stability.«
Immediately after the long answer including the Holocaust statement, the press conference was over.
A handshake, then Abbas and Scholz left the stage.
The damage was already done by then.
