Jerusalem, 6 December, 2025 (TPS-IL) — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is due to arrive in Israel tonight for his first visit since taking office in May. Upon arrival, he is expected to meet with President Isaac Herzog at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem. 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”.

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.

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 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’.

Kostis Konstantinou

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