Today, Friday, German police opened a preliminary investigation against Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, against the background of his recent statements in which he compared Israel's practices to the Holocaust.
Berlin police confirmed Friday that they had opened an investigation into the possibility of Abbas inciting hatred after an official criminal complaint.
The Judicial Police Directorate said that it will inform the Public Prosecution Office of the findings of the investigation "soon" so that the latter will decide whether to continue this path or not, according to what a police spokeswoman revealed.
Abbas had said during a press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Schulz last Tuesday that "since 1947, Israel has committed 50 massacres... 50 massacres... 50 Holocausts."
These statements angered the German chancellor and officials in Israel.
Schultz expressed his displeasure with Abbas's comments in a tweet in which he said, "I am disgusted by the scandalous statements made by the Palestinian president."
Underestimating the importance of the Holocaust is a criminal offense in Germany, but opening a preliminary investigation does not automatically entail a full investigation, according to the German newspaper Bild.
In turn, the German Foreign Ministry confirmed that Abbas, as the representative of the Palestinian Authority, will enjoy immunity from prosecution because he was visiting Germany in an official capacity.
On Tuesday, Shultz reiterated his country's position that it does not recognize Palestine as a sovereign state.
The Holocaust is a term used to describe the campaigns by the government of Nazi Germany and some of its allies, with the aim of persecuting and liquidating the Jews in Europe during World War II between 1939-1945.