Judicial police in Berlin open an investigation into Mahmoud Abbas’s statements about the “Holocaust”
After his statements about the “Holocaust”, the special directorate of the judicial police of the German state of Berlin opened an investigation targeting the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, on suspicion of “incitement to violence”, based on a complaint against him about his statements made he during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
In response to this move, the spokesman for the Palestinian Authority president said that the campaign does not target the president personally, but rather targets the entire Palestinian national project, Palestinian constants and Palestinian interests.
The German capital, Berlin, opened an investigation on Friday on suspicion of “incitement to violence” against the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, who did… With statements that sparked controversy in which he mentioned the Holocaust During the Second World War at a press conference in the German capital.
The special directorate of the judicial police in Berlin has launched an investigation and intends to inform the public prosecutor’s office of its findings “soon”, in order to decide whether or not to continue down this path, according to what a police spokeswoman revealed, confirming information reported by the media.
Police received a complaint against Abbas for “underestimating the Holocaust” following statements he made on Tuesday during a press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
In response to a question at the end 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 president of the Palestinian Authority said. avoided reacting directly, but rather compared the current situation in the areas. The Palestinian Authority, which accused Israel of committing “fifty massacres, fifty Holocausts” against the Palestinians since 1947.
He said: “From 1947 until today, Israel has committed 50 massacres in fifty Palestinian cities, from Deir Yassin to 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 stop. Mahmoud Abbas is supposed to enjoy diplomatic immunity while in Germany under international law, according to the German Foreign Ministry.
“It was an official visit that he made in his capacity as a representative of the Palestinian Authority… even though Germany does not yet recognize the State of Palestine,” State Department spokesman Christopher Burger said during a regular briefing.
However, Michael Kobesel, specialist in criminal law, questions the validity of this hypothesis.
The legal expert said in statements to the “Bild” newspaper 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, like most Western countries, is not among them. However, Berlin established diplomatic relations with the occupied Palestinian territories.
For his part, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for the president of the Palestinian Authority, condemned the “continued campaign of incitement against President Mahmoud Abbas.”
“We believe that this campaign is not targeting the president personally, but rather is targeting the entire Palestinian national project… the Palestinian constants and Palestinian interests,” he said.
He emphasized 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 after his statements at the press conference in Berlin, stressing the following day that “the Holocaust is the most heinous crime that has taken place in modern human history.”
