Press TV: German Chancellor
Angela Merkel says Berlin will continue to support Israel, despite Tel
Aviv’s recent attacks on the Gaza Strip which left scores of men, women and
children dead.
“Germany will always stand on the side of Israel on the issue (of security),” Merkel said on Saturday.
“Israel has not only the right but the duty to protect its citizens,” she added.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said in a statement on Thursday that Berlin had decided to abstain in the vote due to fears the UN resolution would complicate talks between Palestinians and Israelis.
“We did not take this decision lightly. Germany shares the goal of a Palestinian state. We have campaigned for this in many ways... but the decisive steps towards real statehood can only be the result of negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians,” he said. (He said, repeating the Israeli propaganda mantra aimed at avoiding conforming with international law requiring rights and lands to be returned to the Palestinian people.)
“Germany will always stand on the side of Israel on the issue (of security),” Merkel said on Saturday.
“Israel has not only the right but the duty to protect its citizens,” she added.
Merkel’s comments come just two days after Berlin abstained in a UN vote on an upgraded status for Palestinians.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said in a statement on Thursday that Berlin had decided to abstain in the vote due to fears the UN resolution would complicate talks between Palestinians and Israelis.
“We did not take this decision lightly. Germany shares the goal of a Palestinian state. We have campaigned for this in many ways... but the decisive steps towards real statehood can only be the result of negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians,” he said. (He said, repeating the Israeli propaganda mantra aimed at avoiding conforming with international law requiring rights and lands to be returned to the Palestinian people.)