Merkel says Hamas has new weapons, Israel has right to defence

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday there was a "new quality" to weapons used by the Palestinian territory's dominant Islamist Hamas group against Israel and added that countries that come under attack must be allowed to defend themselves.

"Both sides must accept painful compromises but we stand by the side of Israel when it comes to self-defence," she said at a news conference in Berlin.