German FM expresses ‘solidarity’ with Israel, calls for cease-fire

Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, right, and his German counterpart Heiko Maas attend a press conference at the Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, Israel Thursday, May 20, 2021. (AP)

TEL AVIV: Germany’s Foreign Minister Heiko Maas expressed his solidarity with Israel as he visited Thursday, and called for a cease-fire between Israel and the Gaza Strip’s Islamist group Hamas.
“I came here to express my solidarity... Israel has the right to defend itself against this massive and unacceptable attack,” he said in Tel Aviv of rockets fired by Palestinian armed groups on Israel, before Israel retaliated with air strikes.