Shortly before heading to Israel, Merz pushes Abbas on Palestinian Authority reforms

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called for reforms of the Palestinian Authority in a phone call with its leader Mahmoud Abbas early Saturday, hours before taking off for Israel.

Speaking from Berlin, Merz urged Abbas to push through “urgently necessary reforms” at the Palestinian Authority so that the organization could “play a constructive role in a post-war order,” according to German government spokesman Stefan Kornelius.

Merz also underscored German support for US President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza and “welcomed the Palestinian Authority’s cooperative attitude” toward the deal in the call, the spokesman said.

In addition, Merz reiterated Germany’s position that a two-state solution remains the ultimate way to achieve peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians, according to the spokesman.

Trump’s comprehensive plan, whose first phase formed the basis of the October 9 truce-hostage deal, says a reformed PA can take control of Gaza from international forces. The deal suggests that, as a demilitarized Gaza rebuilds and the PA “faithfully” carries out the unspecified reforms, Palestinian statehood could be possible.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected Palestinian statehood and a role for the PA in Gaza’s post-war governance. Israel accuses the PA of support for terrorism in its school curriculum and through payments to families of Palestinian prisoners.

In a statement on the phone call Saturday, Abbas’s office said the PA president thanked Merz for supporting the two-state solution.

Abbas also briefed Merz on how the PA has been “reforming and modernizing school curricula according to UNESCO standards… abolishing the law on prisoner payments and preparing to hold general elections as soon as the war ends and the appropriate conditions are met,” the statement said.

In addition, according to the statement, Abbas said municipal PA elections were scheduled for April 16, and a transitional constitution was in the works, “enshrining the principle of one state, one law and one legitimate armed force” — apparently a reference to the disarmament of Hamas, which seized control over Gaza from the PA in 2007.

Merz’s call with Abbas came hours before the chancellor, whose country is a major supplier of arms to Israel, was scheduled to leave Berlin late Saturday morning for an overnight visit to Israel.

After a brief stop in Jordan, where Merz is scheduled to meet with the Jordanian King Abdullah II, Merz is expected to arrive in Jerusalem for meetings with top Israeli leaders, including Netanyahu.

Merz also plans to visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Israel.

Germany has supported Israel amid the war in Gaza sparked by the Hamas invasion of southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Merz, who took office in May, partially suspended arms sales to Israel in August over its decision to conquer Gaza City. Berlin announced last month that it would lift the partial embargo following the Gaza ceasefire deal.