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Germany is Insulted: "Don't compare the Germans to the Iranians!"
The German Chancellor announced at a joint press conference with Netanyahu in Berlin, that harsher sanctions against Iran should be weighed, but that comparing the acts committed by the Nazis against the Jewish People, to what the Iranians are plotting, is not acceptable. "We will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Israel against the Iranian threat," she said.
During a joint press conference in Berlin with the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Merkel said that economic and energy related sanctions against Iran should be considered, if no progress is made in the coming month regarding Iran's nuclear program.
"If there is no positive answer by September we will have to consider further measures," said Merkel to the journalists. The President of the United States, Barak Obama, made a similar statement when he announced that he is giving Iran until September to return to the negotiation table. Obama said that if Iran refuses to cooperate, it runs the risk of facing severe penalties.
Merkel also commented that the comparison of the Nazis to the Iranian nuclear threat is unfair. "The Germans did unthinkable things to the Jewish people and therefore, I believe the result is the German need to defend Israel and maintain its security. This is why we feel so responsible now in the Iranian matter as well. We will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Israel against the Iranian threat. Nonetheless, I object to the analogy between the two things."
At the same time, Merkel called for a halt of construction in the settlements. When questioned by the reporters, she would not reveal any particulars of her meeting with Netanyahu, saying that while the details were not important, the priniciple was what mattered.
"We must make progress in the peace process ... and a stopping of the settlement (building) is very important," Merkel said. "Time is of the essence," she added.