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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid on Thursday about remarks on the Holocaust made by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas during a recent visit to Berlin.
Scholz tweeted on Wednesday that Abbas’ claim that Israel committed “50 holocausts” against Palestinians was “intolerable and unacceptable.” He then wanted to address it directly with Lapid, who is the son of Holocaust survivors.
“At the beginning of their conversation, the German Chancellor emphasized that he rejects and condemns the statements made by the head of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, and that it is important for him to make this clear both personally and publicly to the prime minister,” Lapid’s office said in a press release about their conversation.
“I thanked him for this condemnation as Israel’s prime minister and son of a Holocaust survivor,” Lapid said in a tweet confirming the conversation.
Outrage at Chancellor’s silence as Palestinian leader says Israel ‘committed 50 holocausts’
Olaf Scholz, Germany’s Chancellor, right, and Mahmud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, arrive for a press conference in Berlin, Tuesday, August 16, 2022. Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The two leaders then addressed a current existential threat to the Jewish state: Iran. The Islamic nation’s leadership has often vowed to wipe Israel off the map, and recent negotiations for a new international deal over its nuclear program have yet to bear fruit.
In their conversation, Lapid emphasized Israel’s opposition to a return to the original agreement, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which Israel considered not going far enough to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon.
IRANIAN threats hang over Israel-Lebanon negotiations over disputed sea border
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid prepares to make a statement at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on Sunday, August 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, Pool) (The Associated Press)
Lapid stressed to Scholz that Europe could not make any concessions to Iran or allow Iran to delay the negotiation process. The Israeli Prime Minister reiterated this on Twitter.
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“Iran must not buy endless time in Vienna,” he said.