On farewell trip to Israel, Merkel vows Germany’s support
JERUSALEM: Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel said Israel’s security will remain a top priority for “every German government”, during a farewell visit to the Jewish state on Sunday near the end of her 16-year term in office.
Merkel, wearing black, laid a wreath at Jerusalem’s Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem, writing in the site’s guest book that visiting there “touches me at the core every time anew”.
“The crimes against the Jewish people that are documented here are a perpetual reminder of the responsibility we Germans bear, and a warning.”
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who hosted Merkel through the day, called her “a true friend of Israel”.
The German leader had earlier voiced confidence that whoever followed her as chancellor will feel equally committed to Israel’s security. “Israel’s security will always be of central importance and a central topic for every German government,” she said.
PM Bennett credited Merkel with fostering an unprecedented bond between the countries and described her as “Europe’s moral compass” due to her support for Israel.
Merkel had planned to visit in August, but delayed her trip during the exit of US and allied forces from Afghanistan.
Under Merkel’s leadership, Germany has advocated for a two-state solution to the IsraeliPalestinian conflict, but she has faced criticism from activists for not pressing Israel to end its military occupation of Palestinian territory that began in 1967.
“We may differ on whether there should be a two-state solution with the Palestinians,” she said, but stressed that both are united in the belief that there must always be “a democratic Jewish state of Israel”.