Chancellor Scholz assured Israel of full solidarity after the Hamas attack. He wants to explain what that means in a government statement today. Scholz then meets the Emir of Qatar, who is supposed to mediate the release of the hostages.
The Hamas attack on Israel and its consequences will also be discussed in the Bundestag today. After the victims of the attack were remembered with a minute’s silence yesterday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz will make a government statement on the situation in Israel today. His speech will be followed by a debate on the major attack by the militant Islamist terrorist organization.
The three coalition factions of the SPD, the Greens and the FDP then want to put a motion for a resolution to the vote together with the Union, in which the “barbaric acts of violence” will be condemned in the strongest possible terms. Germany grants Israel full solidarity and must “provide Israel with everything necessary and desired for its defense on the basis of international law,” it says.
Scholz warns of wildfires
In the daily topics Scholz said he was dismayed by the Hamas attack. At the same time, he warned of a conflagration in the Middle East. The task now is to prevent that, he said. At the same time, he asked all citizens to help ensure the safety of Jewish fellow citizens in Germany and to stand by them in solidarity.
Scholz had already assured Israel of Germany’s unwavering solidarity shortly after the bloody Hamas attack with hundreds of deaths. “Israel’s security is German raison d’être. This is especially true in difficult times like these. And we will act accordingly.”
Qatar should mediate the release of hostages
Scholz announced that he would talk to Turkey and Qatar about the release of hostages held by Hamas. He called it in the daily topics It was “horrible” to see how people in Israel were being killed and hostages being threatened with death. Efforts will be made to release the hostages, but will “act discreetly” and talk to countries in the region that could exert influence.
He wants to meet the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, in Berlin today. The rich Gulf state is one of Hamas’s most important supporters and is said to have offered itself as a mediator for a prisoner exchange.