Israel’s Herzog Travels to Germany for 1972 Olympics Memorial

Israeli President Isaac Herzog speaks as he meets with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (not seen) in London, Britain, November 23, 2021. Justin Tallis/Pool via REUTERS
Israeli President Isaac Herzog speaks as he meets with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (not seen) in London, Britain, November 23, 2021. Justin Tallis/Pool via REUTERS
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Israel’s Herzog Travels to Germany for 1972 Olympics Memorial

Israeli President Isaac Herzog speaks as he meets with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (not seen) in London, Britain, November 23, 2021. Justin Tallis/Pool via REUTERS
Israeli President Isaac Herzog speaks as he meets with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (not seen) in London, Britain, November 23, 2021. Justin Tallis/Pool via REUTERS

Israeli President Isaac Herzog departed Sunday for Germany, where he will attend a memorial for 11 Israeli athletes killed by Palestinian militants at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

"I am leaving this morning on a state visit to Germany, at the invitation of the President of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier," Herzog said in a statement.

"The main part of the visit will be the memorial marking the 50-year anniversary of the terrible massacre of the 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics in 1972," he added.

The president's trip to Munich follows a last-minute compensation deal reached last week between Germany and the families of the Israeli victims.

The bereaved relatives were offered $28 million by Berlin, in addition to $4.5 million previously granted.

Around 70 family members of victims are due to attend Monday's memorial, Ankie Spitzer, whose husband Andre Spitzer was killed, told AFP.

The Israel Olympic Committee confirmed it would send a delegation to the September 5 memorial.

It will mark 50 years since gunmen from the Palestinian militant group Black September stormed the Israeli team's lodgings.

They shot two people dead and took nine others hostage, all of whom were killed. Germany was blamed for botching an operation to rescue them.

Steinmeier's office has not said whether the president will make a formal apology during the ceremony at Fuerstenfeldbruck air base, west of Munich, where the hostage-taking reached its violent end.

During his three-day visit to Germany, Herzog is also due to meet Chancellor Olaf Scholz and address parliament in Berlin.



Putin Discussed Syria Situation with Iran's Pezeshkian by Phone, Says Kremlin

Smoke rises as a member of the rebels led by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham drives on a motorbike in al-Rashideen, Aleppo province, Syria November 29, 2024. REUTERS/Mahmoud Hasano/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Smoke rises as a member of the rebels led by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham drives on a motorbike in al-Rashideen, Aleppo province, Syria November 29, 2024. REUTERS/Mahmoud Hasano/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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Putin Discussed Syria Situation with Iran's Pezeshkian by Phone, Says Kremlin

Smoke rises as a member of the rebels led by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham drives on a motorbike in al-Rashideen, Aleppo province, Syria November 29, 2024. REUTERS/Mahmoud Hasano/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Smoke rises as a member of the rebels led by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham drives on a motorbike in al-Rashideen, Aleppo province, Syria November 29, 2024. REUTERS/Mahmoud Hasano/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Russian President Vladimir Putin has discussed the escalating situation in Syria with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian by phone, the Kremlin said on Monday.

"The focus was on the escalating situation in the Syrian Arab Republic," the Kremlin statement said.

"Unconditional support was expressed for the actions of the legitimate authorities of Syria to restore constitutional order and to restore the political, economic and social stability of the Syrian state."

Pezeshkian said his country was ready for any cooperation with Russia to control the regional situation and help resolve the crisis in Syria, according to the Iranian government's website.

"We believe that the recent events are part of a dangerous plan by the United States and the Zionist regime (Israel) to disrupt the geopolitical landscape of the region in favor of Zionists, but this plan will fail thanks to the unity and cooperation of regional countries," Pezeshkian added.

Earlier, the Kremlin said Russia was continuing to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad after his forces lost territory to opposition groups and would see what help was needed to stabilize the situation.

A statement from the Syrian Prime Minister's office on Monday said that Russian and Syrian aircraft were striking opposition-held positions in Aleppo's eastern countryside, killing and wounding dozens of fighters.

Russia, a staunch Assad ally, intervened militarily on his side against anti-government factions in 2015 in its biggest foray in the Middle East since the Soviet Union's collapse, and maintains an airbase and naval facility in Syria.

The Kremlin said on Friday it wanted the Syrian government to restore constitutional order as soon as possible and regarded the opposition attack as a violation of Syria's sovereignty.

Asked on Monday whether Russia planned to increase its support for Assad, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "We continue to support Bashar Al-Assad. Contacts are continuing at the appropriate levels.

"We are analyzing the situation and a position will be formed on what is needed to stabilize the situation."

Russian military bloggers said on Sunday that Moscow has dismissed Sergei Kisel, the general in charge of its forces in Syria, and replaced him with Colonel General Alexander Chaiko.

There was no official confirmation from the Russian Defense Ministry of such a change.

Assad has vowed to crush the opposition fighters - a coalition of Türkiye-backed mainstream secular armed groups along with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

The opposition seized control of all of Idlib province in recent days, the boldest assault for years in a civil war where front lines had largely been frozen since 2020.

They also swept into the city of Aleppo, east of Idlib, on Friday night, forcing the army to redeploy.