Palestinian women in Ramallah welcome Mahmoud Abbas following his visit to Germany (Getty)
announced Berlin PoliceOn Friday, an investigation was opened into the suspicion of “incitement to violence” once morest the President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbaswho made statements that sparked controversy in which he mentioned Holocaust During World War II At a press conference in the German capital.
The police received a complaint once morest Abbas “for underestimating the Holocaust,” following statements he made, Tuesday, during a press conference with the German chancellor. Olaf Schultz.
The Special Directorate of the Judicial Police in the state of Berlin has opened an investigation, intending to inform the Public Prosecutor of its findings “soon”, so that the latter will decide whether it will continue this path or not, according to what a police spokeswoman revealed to AFP, confirming information reported by the media.
In response to a question at the conclusion of a joint press conference whether Abbas would apologize on behalf of the Palestinian militants who carried out the hostage-taking operation at the Munich Olympics, in which 11 Israeli athletes were killed in 1972, the Palestinian Authority President avoided responding directly, but instead made a comparison with the current situation in the Palestinian territories. Accusing Israel of “fifty massacres, fifty the holocaust once morest the Palestinians since 1947.
He said, “Since 1947 until today, Israel has committed 50 massacres in fifty Palestinian towns, from Deir Yassin Qibiya to al-Tantura, Kafr Qassem and others… 50 massacres, 50 Holocausts, and until now, every day, there are deaths at the hands of the Israeli army.”
However, the investigation may stall. Mahmoud Abbas is supposed to be covered by diplomatic immunity while in Germany under international law, according to the German Foreign Ministry.
“It was an official visit that he paid in his capacity as a representative of the Palestinian Authority, even if Germany does not yet recognize the state of Palestine,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Christopher Burger, during a regular briefing.
However, Michael Kobesel, a specialist in criminal law, questions the validity of this hypothesis.
The legal expert said in statements to the newspaper “Bild” that Abbas does not enjoy immunity unless he is “a representative of another country.”
More than 130 countries recognize the state of Palestine, but Germany is not among them, like most Western countries. However, Berlin established diplomatic relations with the occupied Palestinian territories.
In statements to AFP, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for the Palestinian Authority President, condemned the “continued incitement campaign once morest President Mahmoud Abbas.”
He said: “We consider that this campaign does not target the president personally, but rather targets the entire Palestinian national project… and the Palestinian constants and Palestinian interests.”
He stressed that “the positions of the president and the Palestinian leadership are clear on all issues and everyone knows them, and there is no need or justification for the inflammatory campaign.”
Abbas had clarified his position following his statements at the press conference in Berlin, stressing the following day that “the Holocaust is the most heinous crime in modern human history.”
(AFP)
