Olaf Scholz, the chancellor of Germany, expressed on Saturday his “great astonishment” at the “awful” attacks in Jerusalem.
In reference to a Friday synagogue incident that left seven people dead and another one that happened early on Saturday that left two people hurt, he added, “There have been deaths and people wounded in the heart of Israel.”
Nine Palestinians were killed in an Israeli army operation in the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank prior to the shootings.
“The victims and their families are in my thoughts. Germany stands with Israel’s side, “Tweets from Scholz.
Prior to that, the German foreign ministry expressed its condemnation for the “abominable” attack that happened on Friday and coincided with International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
“A dialogue and cooperation between Israel and the Palestinian authorities are more necessary than ever in order to eliminate terror,” a spokeswoman for the ministry said.
“The spiral of violence that has already caused too many casualties on both sides this year must not continue.”
During Shabbat prayers on Friday night in east Jerusalem, a 21-year-old Palestinian man shot and killed seven people before being shot dead after a chase.
