German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday rejected the word "apartheid" to describe relations between Israel and the Palestinian Territories.
Speaking to journalists after a meeting with Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas in Berlin, Scholz said that despite different views on the conflict between the two sides, the term “apartheid” is not correct.
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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas shake hands during a press conference, in Berlin, Germany
(Photo: JENS SCHLUETER / AFP)
"Naturally we have a different assessment with a view to Israeli politics, and I want to expressly say here that I do not espouse the use of the word apartheid and do not think it correctly describes the situation," the chancellor was quoted as saying by Reuters.
PA President Abbas arrived in Berlin last night on an official visit. He said the two would discuss the latest political developments, what he called the "ongoing Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people", and recognition of a Palestinian state at the United Nations.
Earlier in July, the Britain-based Amnesty International released “End Israeli apartheid” merchandise line.
In February, the human rights group published a report labeling Israel an “apartheid” state that commits human rights violations and treats Palestinians as “an inferior racial group.” The U.S. State Department rejected the report which Israeli officials condemned as "antisemitic", warning the NGO against applying "a double standard."
Later this year Catalonia's parliament in Spain became the first parliament in Europe to pass a resolution recognizing Israel “as committing the crime of apartheid against the Palestinian people.”