German Chancellor Merz arrives in Israel on first official visit for talks on trade, Gaza
Merz will meet with President Herzog upon his arrival Saturday night and will meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu on Sunday morning.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrived in Israel Saturday night for his first visit since taking office in May.
Upon arrival, he met with President Isaac Herzog at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem.
“I came here as a friend of Israel. We will always stand by your side,” KAN quoted the German leader as saying. “It’s a miracle that our countries established relations in such a short time after the Holocaust and that our friendship has reached these depths.”
On Sunday morning, the Chancellor will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, followed by a joint press conference.
According to reports in the German press, the talks are expected to focus on bilateral relations, especially the resumption of military cooperation following the partial lifting of the freeze on German arms exports to Israel in November. The talks will also cover stabilising the Gaza ceasefire and the US peace plan for Gaza’s “day after.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz holds a press conference with Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk (not pictured), on the day of the German-Polish government consultations, at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany December 1, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/LISI NIESNER)
Regional stability and Germany’s role in supplying humanitarian aid to Gaza are also expected to be discussed. According to the same sources, the issue of rising antisemitism and the safety of German Jews will also be addressed.
Merz to make customary visit to memorial
Later in the day, Chancellor Merz will visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial, where he will lay a wreath to honour the victims of the Holocaust, as is customary for every German leader’s inaugural visit.
He is also scheduled to meet relatives of the victims of October 7.
In a phone call with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas hours before his departure for Israel, Merz called for reforms within the Palestinian Authority.
He urged Abbas to push ahead with “urgently needed reforms” so that the organisation could “play a constructive role in the post-war order”.
The PA issued a statement saying that Abbas had briefed Merz on how the PA has been ‘reforming and modernising school curricula according to UNESCO standards’.
Abbas also claimed that the law on prisoner payments, known as ‘pay-to-slay’ in Israel, is being abolished and that the PA is ‘preparing to hold general elections as soon as the war ends and the appropriate conditions are met’.
