Merz renews backing for Israel, also calls for Palestinian state

Chancellor Friedrich Merz reaffirmed Germany's support for Israel while also calling for a Palestinian state alongside Israel as the best path to peace and security in the region.

Merz, a conservative politician who has long backed Israel, renewed that stance in a written statement Wednesday. He said Germany stands firmly by Israel and that Israeli friends can count on Berlin's commitment.

Blaming Hamas for the conflict, Merz said Germany's thoughts were with the victims of the October 2023 attacks, the survivors and former hostages. The country, he said, stands in solidarity with the victims' families and mourns the dead.

Security and Palestinian state

"We stand for the security and existence of Israel. That is a lesson from the Shoah and part of German identity," Merz said.

The Shoah, the Hebrew term for the Holocaust, was the systematic murder of about 6 million Jews by Nazi Germany during World War II.

Merz renewed his call for a political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying the task now is to lay the foundation for a new order in which Israelis, Palestinians and their neighbors can live in peace and security.

"The German government is committed to this," he said. "In our conviction, this goal is best achieved through the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel."

Antisemitism in Germany

Merz also warned of growing antisemitism in Germany that, he said, too often goes unchallenged. He pledged that the government would do everything in its power to fight antisemitism in all its new and old forms.

"Jews must be able to live without fear throughout Germany. Jewish life must be able to continue to flourish in our society," he said. "That is why we are acting with all determination against antisemitic incidents and attacks."

He said the government would oppose those who relativize or question Israel's right to exist, not only on this anniversary, but every day.