Support for Israel is the “essential, unchanging core” of German policy, said Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Saturday evening (December 6, 2025) in Jerusalem at a meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
“Support for this country is and will continue to be part of the essential, unchanging core of the Federal Republic of Germany’s policy,” said Merz, whose decision in August to impose a partial embargo on his country’s arms exports to Israel amid increasing Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip angered Israeli authorities.
“The Israeli army’s actions in Gaza presented us with some dilemmas” and “we responded,” he added.
But “we also notice that there is now basically no longer any divergence,” added Merz.
The German Chancellor lifted the embargo at the end of November and reiterated to Herzog that “Israel has the right to defend itself.”
For his part, Herzog thanked him for the visit and praised Germany’s “fundamental role as one of the most important countries in the world” for the future of the Gaza Strip after the “peace plan” and the ceasefire in force since October 10, although Israeli attacks on the Palestinian enclave continue.
“evil empire”
“It is obvious that in order to move to the next stage, we must ensure that Hamas and its capabilities are withdrawn from Gaza and offer a new horizon to the region (…) We are dealing with an evil empire coming from Tehran and therefore the positions must be clear,” stressed the President of Israel.
Hamas is considered a terrorist organization by the European Union and several countries.
The war was triggered after the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which claimed 1,219 lives, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official data.
According to information from the Hamas government’s health ministry, which is considered reliable by the United Nations, thousands of people, mostly civilians, are killed in Israel’s repression in Gaza.
However, Hamas and Israel managed to reach a ceasefire agreement after adhering to a US proposal that called for Hamas to hand over hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.
The mediating countries in the conflict, the USA, Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, signed a declaration as guarantors of the peace agreement for Gaza a few days after the start of the ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist movement Hamas.
mg (afp, efe)