Foreign expert Michael Roth on terror in Israel: “The seeds of hatred must not sprout further”

Horrifying scenes on the evening of Holocaust Remembrance Day.

In the Arab-dominated eastern part of Jerusalem, Jews are leaving the synagogue after attending the Sabbath when a radical Islamist Palestinian opens fire.

The 21-year-old perpetrator, shot by security forces while trying to escape, killed seven people. According to police information, it is a member of the radical Islamic Hamas from the Shuafat refugee camp north of Jerusalem.

Less than 24 hours after the worst terrorist attack on Israeli soil in years, anti-Semitic violence has broken out again just a few kilometers from the scene.

A 13-year-old Palestinian boy shoots at a Jewish family. Father and son fought for their lives in the hospital, but their condition is now stable. The young perpetrator, shot by armed passers-by during his attack, is also being treated.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (73) got a picture of the synagogue in the evening, called his security cabinet and announced “immediate countermeasures”.

There is horror all over the world. After a phone call with Netanyahu, US President Joe Biden (80) spoke of an “attack on the civilized world”, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (64, SPD) of a “terrible attack” in the heart of Israel.

The Palestinians are different: A spokesman for the radical Islamist Hamas justified the attacks as “retaliation” for a raid by the Israeli army in the Jenin refugee camp. Fighting broke out during Thursday’s operation and ten Palestinians died.

Immediately after the incident became known, thousands of Palestinians gathered for celebrations in West Bank cities. Militants poured into the streets and shot in the air. The radical Islamic terrorist militia Hezbollah in Lebanon also cheered the crime.

“Just disgusting,” says the chairman of the foreign affairs committee in the Bundestag, Michael Roth (52, SPD). Roth warns BILD am SONNTAG that “the seeds of hatred must not sprout any further. The situation in the region has been tense for months. Israel has the right to defend itself against such terror and to protect its people.”

FDP foreign expert Alexander Graf Lambsdorff (56) made this clear to BILD am SONNTAG and at the same time found words of praise for the quick reaction of the UN: “It is important and right that the UN Security Council condemned the attack in an emergency meeting.”

This article comes from BILD am SONNTAG. The ePaper of the entire issue is available here.