Germany’s Merz meets Netanyahu under shadow of Israel’s war on Gaza

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has affirmed support for the creation of a Palestinian state, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has again rejected such a move, during the German leader’s inaugural visit to the country.
At a joint press conference on Sunday following a meeting in Jerusalem, the two leaders spoke of their respective priorities for Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
Merz’s trip is playing out under the shadow of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza – although Merz, leader of one of Israel’s staunchest supporters, does not consider it a genocide.
Merz told the news conference that Germany, one of Israel’s most unwavering allies, wanted a new Middle East that recognised a Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel.
“Our conviction is that the prospective establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel presumably offers the best prospect for this future,” the German chancellor said.
But he said his government had no intention of recognising a Palestinian state “in the foreseeable future”.
But Netanyahu said that the Israeli public was opposed to any two-state solution, and that the political annexation of the occupied West Bank – a concern raised by Merz and also rejected by the administration of United States President Donald Trump – remained a subject of discussion, although the status quo was expected to remain for the foreseeable future.

Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh reports from Palestine.

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