UPDATES WITH MORE QUOTES FROM SCHOLZ, ADDS DETAILS, EDITS THROUGHOUT
By Anadolu staff
MUNICH (AA) - Amid growing concerns over Israel’s planned ground operation in the city of Rafah, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday urged Tel Aviv to abide by international law.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Scholz reaffirmed Germany’s support for Israel’s security, but also underlined that they expect the Israeli government to respect international law.
“Israel has the right to defend their own country, and this is what the United States, and what Germany, and many others are just stating,” Scholz told an audience of international political and military leaders.
“We are also very clear on the things that are important to be said. So first that humanitarian aid has to get to Gaza, and more as we see today. Second, that the way the war is handled is according to international law,” he stressed.
Scholz made the remarks when he was asked by the moderator about the Western response to the Gaza conflict, and criticisms of hypocrisy and double standards for its failure to stop Israeli military’s war crimes.
More than 28,000 Palestinians have been killed so far in Gaza during Israel's attacks, and the UN agencies have been warning that a planned ground offensive in Rafah would have even more disastrous consequences for the civilians.
Scholz said his government has been conveying its concerns to the Israeli government and reminding them of their responsibility to abide by international law.
“We are asking that they do so, and we are constantly discussing this question, and there's good reason for doing so, and it is something which is so important for all of us,” the chancellor said.
“We are very clear in this that obeying international law and the rules is something which is not just something we do because we subscribed (to) some agreements globally, it is something which is coming out of our perspective of humankind and how we want to be, and how we want to see ourselves,” he added.
Some 1.5 million Palestinians previously displaced by Israel's offensive on Gaza are holed up in Rafah, seeking refuge from hostilities that have laid waste to wide swathes of Palestinian territory.
Israel's reported plans for an offensive on the city have sounded international alarm bells, with many countries urging restraint or calling off the operation altogether.
Scholz said Germany has been engaged in diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the conflict, create the conditions for talks for a political solution, a perspective for peaceful relation between Israel and future Palestinian state
”I’m discussing with many of the leaders all around, in Jordan, in Qatar, in United Arab Emirates, in Saudi Arabia, and in Türkiye, and so on, and we’re also giving a lot of views, we’re sharing our views also with the Israeli government,” he said.
Since a cross-border incursion by Hamas on Oct. 7 that killed some 1,200 people, the Israeli offensive into Gaza has killed more than 28,600 people, mostly women and children, and caused mass destruction and shortages of necessities.
The Israeli war has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.
Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and to take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.