Merz closes ranks with Netanyahu but issues a warning about the West Bank

BarcelonaGerman Chancellor Friedrich Merz's visit to Jerusalem this weekend produced images such as the leader paying tribute to the victims of the Holocaust at the Yad Vashem museum. Like so many of his German predecessors, Merz recalled his country's "historical responsibility" to the Jewish people for the systematic murder of six million people 80 years ago. "Germany must defend the existence and security of Israel," he said from the memorial. "This will forever be an inextricable part of the essence of our relationship."

With this visit—the first by a European leader to the country since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—Berlin sought to ease the tension generated by the German government's condemnation of the genocide in Gaza, which culminated in with the approval of a decree to restrict arms sales to Israel. Merz acknowledged to Netanyahu that this situation presented his government with a dilemma. But since Israel signed the agreement with Hamas, Germany believes it can now normalize relations with its historic ally, despite the death toll in Gaza, which has risen to over 70,000. the constant interruptions of the ceasefire

Now, just as his country did after World War II, the German Chancellor believes that Israel must be held accountable before international justice.Merz, speaking from Jerusalem, asserted that, "as a country at war," and as a "democratic state governed by the rule of law," Israel must "be held accountable under international law for its military actions." He made this statement at a press conference with Netanyahu, where he also urged Tel Aviv not to annex the West Bank or approve any "formal, political, structural, or any other measure that amounts to annexation." However, the Israeli Prime Minister responded to the warning by stating that the annexation of the West Bank remains a topic of discussion and that the [unclear] remains [unclear].status quo in the territory, which remains under Israeli control.

When Netanyahu was asked if he expected to visit Berlin, he asserted that the reason he doesn't visit Germany is because there is "a corrupt prosecutor at the International Criminal Court" who "is destroying the reputation" of the institution, referring to the British prosecutor Karim Khan, who last year issued an arrest warrant for crimes against humanity committed in Gaza.

Towards the second phase of the peace plan

Netanyahu also assured Merz that The second phase of the peace plan in Gaza, sponsored by Donald Trump, is imminent.This phase will include the "disarmament of Hamas and the demilitarization" of the Gaza Strip. "The first phase is almost over. The second is imminent and will be difficult, even more difficult. It will pose a no less significant challenge: the disarmament of Hamas and the demilitarization of Gaza," he told his German counterpart. After this second phase, Netanyahu added, there will be a "third phase, which will consist of deradicalizing Gaza, something that was also once thought impossible in Germany and Japan but which was eventually achieved." Regarding this last point, Merz urged caution in making decisions before reaching the second and third phases, and expressed hope that this plan will bring "lasting peace" to Gaza.