Chancellor Olaf Solz’s reaction came via twitter stating he was “outraged by Mahmoud Abbas’ unimaginable statements” and stressing that any relativization of the Holocaust cannot be tolerated and is unacceptable.
Wave of reactions in Germany, but also internationally, the statements of the president of the Palestinian Authority have provoked Mahmoud Abbas at the joint press conference with Olaf Solz yesterday afternoon at the chancellery. Mahmoud Abbas directly accused Israel from Berlin of having committed “50 Holocausts” against Palestinians, on a question about the 50th anniversary of the attack on the Israeli team by Palestinian hijackers at the 1972 Olympics.
Immediately after the response about multiple Israeli “Holocausts” against Palestinians, the government representative and moderator of the interview Stephen Hembestright hastily completed the process, with Chancellor Olaf Solz not giving any answer to Abbas’s words. Only the photographic lens, immediately after the disputed press conference captured it angered Olaf Solz to pass Mahmoud Abbas in the corridors of the chancellery.
Soltz’s rage via twitter and Hebstreit’s mouth
A little later came the reaction of the chancellor Olaf Solz via twitter stating “infuriated by Mahmoud Abbas’ unimaginable statements». As he pointed out: “Especially for us Germans, any relativization of the Holocaust cannot be tolerated, it is unacceptable. I condemn any attempt to deny the crimes of the Holocaust».
Ich bin zutiefst empört über die unsäglichen Aussagen des palästinensischen Präsidenten Mahmoud #Abbas. Gerade für uns Deutsche ist jegliche Relativierung des Holocaust unterräglich und inakzeptabel. Ich verurteile jeden Versuch, die Verbrechen des Holocaust zu leugnen.
— Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz (@Bundeskanzler) August 17, 2022
On the other hand, Steffen Hebstreit already yesterday reported to the German news agency dpa that the “German chancellor was outraged”.
He even repeated today in the government briefing that the chancellor “regrets” that he was not able to intervene after Mahmoud Abbas’s statement in front of the journalists.
The government representative even took responsibility himself, as he said, for the mismanagement of the press conference. “It was my mistake and I take responsibility for it”said Stephen Hebstreit characteristically.
Explanations by Mahmoud Abbas
From there, Mahmoud Abbas, after the intense reactions that were caused, clarified today that he had no intention of questioning the Holocaust of the Jews characterizing it as the “most heinous crime committed in history”. But he wanted, as he notes, to show the crimes of the Israelis against Palestinians.
From the side of Joseph Schusterpresident of the Central Jewish Council of Germany, speaks of desecration of the memory of six million Jews and total of all victims of the Nazi Holocaust. The Christian Democrats also came under heavy criticism, with main opposition party chairman Friedrich Merz strongly criticizing Olaf Solz’s stance, saying he should have stopped the press conference.
Mahmoud Abbas accusing Israel of having committed “50 Holocausts” while standing on German soil is not only a moral disgrace, but a monstrous lie.
Six million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust, including one and a half million Jewish children.
History will never forgive him.
— יאיר לפיד – Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) August 16, 2022
And the prime minister of Israel Yair Lapid responded to the statements of Mahmoud Abbas by noting: “For Mahmoud Abbas to accuse Israel from German soil of committing ’50 Holocausts’ is not only a moral disgrace but also a monstrous lie. Six million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust, including one and a half million children. History will never forgive him». Olaf Solz is expected to have a telephone conversation with Yair Lapid about the incident in the chancellery tomorrow.
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