Merkel stresses ‘solidarity’ with Israel in call with Netanyahu

By AFP 17 May 2021, 5:03 pm

Edit

German Chancellor Angela Merkel voices “solidarity” with Israel in a phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and calls for a swift end to the worst Israeli-Palestinian violence in years.

“The chancellor again sharply condemned the continued rocket attacks from Gaza on Israel and assured the prime minister of the German government’s solidarity,” Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert says in a statement after the call. “She reaffirmed Israel’s right to defend itself against the attacks.”

Given the many civilian lives lost on both sides, the statement adds, “the chancellor expressed her hope that the fighting will end as soon as possible.”