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Russia accuses Israel of ‘collective punishment’ in Gaza, backs genocide charges

Russian foreign ministry blasts Germany’s decision to oppose South African genocide accusations against Israel, accusing Israel of ‘collective punishment’ in Gaza.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

Moscow accused Israel of engaging in “collective punishment” against Arabs in Gaza, justifying the genocide charges brought by South Africa against the Jewish state at the International Court of Justice.

In a statement released Sunday, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova castigated the German government for backing Israel and rejecting South Africa’s allegations of genocide, accusing Berlin of having a pro-Israel bias.

“We were not surprised by the German Government’s decision to oppose the Republic of South Africa which has filed a case with the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of subjecting people in Gaza to genocide,” Zakharova said.

“This move was predicated on the unfettered support Berlin has always lent to Israel while dismissing any possible consequences. Germany has been asserting its unwavering commitment to this policy for quite a long time as one of the main unspoken tenets of the so-called rules-based order as defined by Washington.”

Zakharova invoked the legacy of the Holocaust by comparing the Ukrainian government to Nazi Germany, echoing statements by senior Russian leaders before and after the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

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“Chancellor Olaf Scholz publicly said that Germany and Ukraine’s neo-Nazi regime were ‘on the right side of history,’ which de facto amounted to exonerating Vladimir Zelensky’s human-hating regime in its current iteration as it seeks to reincarnate World War II-era Nazi accomplices and erase the memory of those who fought against fascism.”

She went on to accuse Israel of “collective punishment of Palestinians in Gaza,” and condemning Germany’s “flawed approach” of rejecting South Africa’s genocide charges.

“This raises the question of whether Germany was sincere in its repentance before and whether its de-Nazification was effective.”

“We believe the behaviour by Germany’s current administration to be unacceptable, unlawful and immoral. That said, the ongoing revival of German militarism and the fact that it approves of neo-Nazi practices constitutes the most alarming trend.”

Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov hosted a delegation of Hamas leaders in Moscow on Friday, discussing regional tensions as well as the plight of three Russian citizens still held in captivity in the Gaza Strip.

During the meeting, Hamas deputy chairman Mousa Abu Marzook rejected Russian overtures to Hamas to free the three hostages.

“We don’t capture someone from Russia or France, we capture him because he kills Palestinians and he’s an Israeli soldier. Israel attributes foreign citizenship to them and pretends they are no longer Israeli,” Marzook told Russia Today.

“We have decided that there will be nothing new in the release of prisoners until there is a comprehensive ceasefire.”