GAZA, (The Palestine Foundation Pakistan)
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qasem has condemned recent remarks by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, calling them a justification for Israel’s genocide in Gaza and clear proof of Germany’s political and military support for Israel’s war crimes.
Qasem said on Friday that Merz’s statements — defending Israel’s ongoing campaign of violence for more than two years — reflect Germany’s deep bias and complicity in the extermination of the Palestinian people, despite global condemnation of Israel’s actions.
He urged the German chancellor to end Berlin’s blind support for the Israeli occupation and to stop justifying war crimes, calling instead for alignment with the global conscience that condemns Israel’s atrocities in Gaza.
Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan strongly criticized Merz’s pro-Israel stance during a press conference in Ankara. The German chancellor had claimed that Hamas’s refusal to release Israeli captives was the reason for the ongoing war — a statement Erdogan denounced as blatant disregard for Israel’s genocide.
“Does Germany not see the genocide Israel is committing in Gaza?” Erdogan asked, accusing Berlin of ignoring Israel’s massacres, famine, and continuous bombardment.
He pointed out that nearly 60,000 children, women, and elderly people have been killed by Israel’s attacks and condemned its use of destructive weapons against Gaza.
Erdogan added that Israel resumed its airstrikes even after the ceasefire agreement and called on the international community to restrain Israel and stop the genocide and starvation in Gaza.
He proposed the involvement of both the German Red Cross and the Turkish Red Crescent in humanitarian efforts to alleviate the crisis, emphasizing that Israel continues to use advanced weaponry to destroy the besieged enclave.
“Do you not see this in Germany? Do you not follow what is happening?” Erdogan said, stressing that Israel continues its policy of starvation and genocide against Gaza.
