Germany’s Merkel to visit Israel ahead of planned retirement

German chancellor’s spokeswoman says she’ll arrive on August 28, will meet with PM Bennett, President Herzog

By AFP 20 August 2021, 4:20 pm

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel during a joint press conference with Israeli prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, on October 4, 2018. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

BERLIN — German Chancellor Angela Merkel will head to Israel next Saturday for talks with the country’s new government just weeks before she is due to leave office, her spokeswoman said.

Merkel will meet Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and President Isaac Herzog during the visit, scheduled for August 28 to 30, spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer said on Friday.

The chancellor, who is due to retire from politics following September 26 elections in Germany, will also receive an honorary doctorate from the Technion Israel Institute of Technology.

Veteran right-wing premier Benjamin Netanyahu was ousted from power in June by a disparate coalition of rivals from across the political spectrum.

The new government took office after 11 days of intense fighting between Israel and the Gaza-ruling terror group Hamas in May.

Congratulating the new government in June, Merkel said that Germany and Israel were “connected by a unique friendship that we want to strengthen further.”

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier visited Israel at the end of June, stressing support for the country and pledging to continue to fight against antisemitism in Germany.

Then-President Reuven Rivlin hosts President Frank-Walter Steinmeier of Germany at Beit HaNasi in Jerusalem, on July 1, 2021. (Kobi Michael, GPO)

Germany and Israel forged strong diplomatic ties in the decades after World War II, with Berlin committed to the preservation of the Jewish state in penance for the Holocaust.

Throughout her 16 years in power, Merkel has described Israel’s national security as a crucial priority in German foreign policy.