Scholz Condemns Palestinian Leader's '50 Holocausts' Remark With Almost 24-Hour Delay

BERLIN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th August, 2022) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned on Wednesday a statement by Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas accusing Israel of "50 Holocausts" against Palestinians with an almost 24-hour delay.

On Tuesday afternoon, Scholz and Abbas took part in a press conference in Berlin following talks between the two. Abbas was asked if Palestine intended to apologize for the 1972 Munich attack against Israeli athletes. In response, the Palestinian leader said that Israel had committed "50 massacres, 50 Holocausts" in Palestine since 1947. Scholz did not immediately comment on the statement, though publicly downplaying, denying, approving or justifying the crimes of Nazism is a criminal offense in Germany.

"I am deeply outraged by the unspeakable statements made by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

For us Germans, in particular, any relativization of the Holocaust is unbearable and unacceptable. I condemn any attempt to deny the crimes of the Holocaust," Scholz wrote on Twitter.

On Tuesday, the chancellor's non-reaction was sharply criticized by the German opposition. According to Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party leader Friedrich Merz, the "unbelievable" happened during the scandalous press conference, and Scholz should have clearly objected to the Palestinian president and asked him to leave the premises.

The terrorist attack at the Munich Olympics in 1972 was committed by members of a Palestinian terrorist group, killing 12 people, 11 of whom were members of the Israeli Olympic team, and one was a German police officer. Five of the eight terrorists were killed by the German special forces.