Overview
- Germany’s chancellor held talks with Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Sunday after meeting President Isaac Herzog and visiting Yad Vashem.
- Merz reiterated Germany’s enduring commitment to Israel’s security and its right to self‑defense, calling this a core tenet of German policy.
- He urged concrete movement toward a two‑state solution and cautioned against any annexation steps in the occupied West Bank.
- Merz pressed for better humanitarian access to Gaza and for advancing the US‑brokered ceasefire plan to a phase that includes Hamas disarmament.
- The visit follows Berlin’s August partial arms embargo on Israel, lifted in late November, and includes meetings with freed hostages and relatives of those killed in captivity.