\n<\/p>\n
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has affirmed support for the creation of a Palestinian state, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has again rejected such a move, during the German leader\u2019s inaugural visit to the country.<\/p>\n
At a joint press conference on Sunday following a meeting in Jerusalem, the two leaders spoke of their respective priorities for Gaza and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n list of 4 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n Merz\u2019s trip is playing out under the shadow of Israel\u2019s genocidal war on Gaza \u2013 although Merz, leader of one of Israel\u2019s staunchest supporters, does not consider it a genocide.<\/p>\n Merz told the news conference that Germany, one of Israel\u2019s most unwavering allies, wanted a new Middle East that recognised a Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel.<\/p>\n \u201cOur conviction is that the prospective establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel presumably offers the best prospect for this future,\u201d the German chancellor said.<\/p>\n But he said his government had no intention of recognising a Palestinian state \u201cin the foreseeable future\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe German federal government remains of the opinion that recognition of a Palestinian state should come at the end \u2013 not the beginning \u2013 of such a process (peace negotiations),\u201d he said, putting Germany at odds with several other key European nations, including France, Spain and the Untied Kingdom, who have all confirmed formal recognition.<\/p>\n But Netanyahu said that the Israeli public was opposed to any two-state solution, and that the political annexation of the occupied West Bank \u2013 a concern raised by Merz and also rejected by the administration of United States President Donald Trump \u2013 remained a subject of discussion, although the status quo was expected to remain for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n \u201cThe purpose of a Palestinian state is to destroy the Jewish state,\u201d Netanyahu claimed without expanding.<\/p>\n The Israeli premier added that the first phase of Trump\u2019s Gaza plan was nearly completed, and that he would be having \u201cvery important conversations\u201d at the end of December on how to ensure the second phase would be achieved.<\/p>\n He would also meet Trump later this month, he added.<\/p>\n The war on Gaza has tested the traditionally strong ties between Israel and Germany, for whom support for Israel is a core tenet of its foreign policy, built in during decades of historical guilt over the Third Reich\u2019s Holocaust.<\/p>\n In August, Israel\u2019s actions in Gaza drove Germany \u2013 Israel\u2019s second-largest arms supplier after the US \u2013 to restrict sales of weapons for use in Gaza. At the time, Merz said \u2013 in a public criticism of Israel that was rare for a German leader \u2013 that his government could no longer ignore the worsening toll on civilians in the besieged and bombarded enclave.<\/p>\n Netanyahu expressed his anger at the restrictions, which were lifted two weeks ago.<\/p>\n Speaking at the news conference, Merz said the decision to restrict weapons sales had changed nothing \u201cin our very basic attitude towards Israel and Israel\u2019s security, in our support of Israel, in our military support of Israel as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Merz\u2019s visit \u2013 coming seven months since he assumed power \u2013 has come relatively late in his tenure as chancellor compared to his predecessors, with Olaf Scholz having visited Israel after three months and Angela Merkel after two.<\/p>\n Speaking at the press conference in Jerusalem, Merz said the leaders did not discuss a visit by Netanyahu \u2013 who faces an arrest warrant for alleged war crimes in Gaza from the International Criminal Court (ICC) \u2013 to Berlin.<\/p>\n \u201cWe did not discuss the possibility of Prime Minister Netanyahu travelling to Germany. There is no reason to discuss this at the moment,\u201d Merz told reporters.<\/p>\n \u201cIf time permits, I would issue such an invitation if appropriate. But this is not an issue for either of us at the present time.\u201d<\/p>\n Earlier this year, Merz vowed to invite the Israeli leader and assured him he would not be arrested on German soil.<\/p>\n In the meantime, back in Germany, activists in the capital Berlin held a demonstration to condemn Israel\u2019s ongoing genocidal war on Gaza, to demand a halt to arms exports to Israel, and to express their support for Palestine.<\/p>\n There has also been criticism from the political opposition in Germany to Merz making the trip at all to meet a leader with an ICC arrest warrant hanging over him.<\/p>\n Prior to meeting Netanyahu, Merz had visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, where he reiterated Berlin\u2019s enduring support.<\/p>\n During the visit, he said \u201cGermany must stand up for the existence and security of Israel,\u201d after acknowledging his country\u2019s \u201cenduring historical responsibility\u201d for the mass extermination of Jews during World War II.<\/p>\n On his arrival in Israel on Saturday, Merz was met at Tel Aviv\u2019s Ben Gurion Airport by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, who called Merz \u201ca friend of Israel\u201d. He then met Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem later that evening.<\/p>\n Reporting from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, Al Jazeera\u2019s Nour Odeh said the relationship between Germany and Israel remained \u201cvery strong\u201d, despite recent strains over Gaza.<\/p>\n Not only had Germany resumed arms exports to Israel following a short-lived partial suspension, but it had recently signed a $4.5bn deal for an Israeli-made missile defence shield, reportedly the largest arms export agreement in Israeli history.<\/p>\n Speaking at Sunday\u2019s news conference, Netanyahu said the deal reflected a \u201chistorical change\u201d in Israel\u2019s relationship with Germany.<\/p>\n \u201cNot only does Germany work in the defence of Israel, but Israel, the Jewish state, 80 years after the Holocaust, works for the defence of Germany,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Odeh said Germany\u2019s support had proven controversial at home and abroad, and had seen Germany being accused of complicity in genocide for its military support to Israel, before judges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled against issuing emergency orders to stop German arms exports.<\/p>\n \u201cThe visit itself is quite controversial given that Germany is a member of the International Criminal Court and is obliged to hand over Netanyahu to the court, not meet with him,\u201d Odeh noted.<\/p>\n She said Israel had little tolerance for criticism from Germany, but understood that its occasional comments taking issue with its actions had little bearing on Berlin\u2019s policy response.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Israeli political system \u2026 understands that even that criticism \u2026 doesn\u2019t really amount to much in terms of policy,\u201d she said, describing Berlin as acting as \u201ca brick wall at the European Union against any criticism, any action, any sanctions against Israel\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has affirmed support for the creation of a Palestinian state, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has again rejected such a move, during the German leader\u2019s inaugural visit to the country. At a joint press conference on Sunday following a meeting in Jerusalem, the two leaders spoke of their respective priorities […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4662,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle-east-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4661","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4661"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4661\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n
Relationship strained over Gaza<\/h2>\n
No reciprocal visit on cards<\/h2>\n
Germany \u2018must stand up\u2019 for Israel<\/h2>\n
German support resolute despite criticism<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"