Netanyahu condemns Berlin attack, calls for united front against terror
PM sends condolences to bereaved families, says terrorism can only be defeated by direct confrontation
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday denounced the apparent terror attack in Berlin that killed at least 12 people, and offered his condolences to the families of the victims and the German government.
Netanyahu urged greater global cooperation among nations facing an international terror assault.
German officials confirmed that a truck was deliberately driven into crowds at Christmas market in Berlin on Monday and indicated that the suspect was likely an asylum-seeker who had sought refuge in the country. In addition to the fatalities, nearly 50 people were injured in the assault, including an Israeli man whose wife was declared missing.
“Israel condemns what appears to be a terror attack in Germany,” the prime minister told reporters. “We send our condolences to the families of the victims and of course to the German government and a speedy recovery to the injured, including an Israeli citizen.”
“This attack joins [other] reprehensible attacks; terror is spreading everywhere and can be stopped only if we fight it, and we will defeat it, but we will defeat it much quicker if all free nations under attack unite.”
The Israeli man, reportedly in his sixties, was seriously wounded and has undergone surgery and his life is not in danger, the ministry said. His wife has been declared missing and the Israeli embassy is in contact with German authorities.
An Israeli diplomat in Berlin, Leora Givon, went to visit the victim in the hospital, the Foreign Ministry said.
The truck struck the popular market outside the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church late in the day, as tourists and locals were enjoying a traditional pre-Christmas evening out near the Berlin Zoo station.
Berlin police said a man arrested for the truck attack in the German capital is likely not the actual perpetrator, who is still on the loose.
“We have the wrong man,” a police official told the German paper De Welt
The man initially arrested is a Pakistani who entered the country about a year ago.
The Islamic State group and al-Qaeda have both called on followers to use trucks in particular to attack crowds. On July 14, a truck plowed into Bastille Day revelers in the southern French city of Nice, killing 86 people. Islamic State claimed responsibility for that attack, which was carried out by a Tunisian living in France.
Times of Israel staff and agencies contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.