Germany backs calls for Gaza probe

JERUSALEM – Germany says it supports calls for an independent investigation into the killing of dozens of Palestinians by Israeli forces during protests in Gaza.

Government spokesman Steffen Seibert says the violence "concerns us greatly and it's terrible that so many people lost their lives, including minors."

Seibert told reporters in Berlin on Tuesday that the right to peaceful protest should exist in Gaza too, but blamed the Palestinian group Hamas for firing up tensions on the day the United States unveiled its new embassy in Jerusalem. He said: "Hamas is trying to escalate the violence. That is cynical."