German Chancellor Merz arrives for first visit to Israel

While affirming support, Merz also called for a Palestinian state, which a majority in Israel reject.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Chancellor Friedrich Merz landed in Israel Saturday night on his first visit since taking office in May and immediately reaffirmed Germany’s support for the Jewish state.

Meeting with President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem, Merz said, “We will always stand by Israel” – a stance that is “part of our basic DNA and our policy.”

Germany had imposed a partial arms embargo on Israel earlier this year due to dissatisfaction with the IDF’s conduct of the war against Hamas in Gaza, lifting the restrictions a few weeks after the Oct. 10 cease-fire.

“The actions of the army and the government had presented us with a dilemma,” he said. “We had to react, but rest assured that we are still on your side. Israel has the right to defend itself and the right to exist.”

The embargo did not prevent Germany from purchasing Israeli weapons.

Last week, Berlin took possession of Israel’s first exported Arrow 3 anti-missile system, which proved extremely effective against ballistic missiles fired by Iran and its Houthi proxies in Yemen throughout the two-year war.

The German army also just signed a $2.3 billion contract with Rafael Advanced Defense Systems for Spike anti-tank missiles, in one of the largest European defense deals for Israel’s military industries in recent years.

After their meeting, Herzog wrote on X that the two countries are “true friends” and their “important relationship continues to be a significant strategic asset for both nations.”

He said they discussed implementing U.S. President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan and “emphasized that Hamas must be removed from Gaza and disarmed.”

Standing alongside Herzog, Merz also called for the establishment of a Palestinian state so all sides can live “in peace, security and dignity” — despite adamant Israeli government opposition and consistent public rejection of such a state in surveys conducted throughout the war.

According to Trump’s peace plan, ratified by a U.N. Security Council resolution last month, Palestinians would gain a “credible pathway to statehood” only if the Palestinian Authority (PA) undertakes sweeping reforms.

These include full financial transparency, removal of ubiquitous antisemitic content from school curricula, and ending the “pay-for-slay” system of compensating terrorists and their families on a sliding scale, depending on the terrorists’ success in committing their attacks.

In a phone call with PA President Mahmoud Abbas before taking off for Israel, Merz urged him to implement the “necessary and urgent reforms” so that it can “play a constructive role in the post-war system.”

While claiming commitment to a two-state solution, Abbas falsely told Merz that the PA had updated schoolbooks to UNESCO standards and repealed the Prisoners’ Payment Law, although payments were merely shifted to another body.

Abbas also demanded that the second phase of the peace plan be implemented now, saying that Hamas should turn over its weapons to the PA and Israel should withdraw fully from Gaza.

Hamas has repeatedly said it will surrender weapons only to a recognized Palestinian state, and no country has agreed to send forces into the Strip to enforce disarmament, which is a necessary condition before Israel withdraws from the half of the Strip it now controls.