Overview
- After talks in Amman with King Abdullah II, Merz will meet Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Sunday and visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial.
- Berlin paused certain arms exports to Israel in August over the Gaza war and lifted the restrictions effective November 24 following a US-backed ceasefire.
- Since the ceasefire, local health officials report more than 350 Palestinians and three Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza, and the UN says aid access remains insufficient.
- Defence cooperation continues, with Germany activating the first phase of Israel’s Arrow missile defence shield in a reported $4.5 billion deal.
- Legal tensions persist over the ICC warrant for Netanyahu, and German officials say there are no current plans to invite him despite Merz’s earlier assurance he could visit without arrest.