German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has arrived in Israel for his first visit since taking office in May , aiming to reaffirm the traditionally strong ties between the two countries, which have been shaken over the course of Israel’s more than two-year genocidal war on Palestinians in Gaza.

After a brief stop in Jordan, Merz landed just before 8pm local time (18:00 GMT) on Saturday at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport, where he was met by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, who called him “a friend of Israel” and said Germany was “an important partner”.

Merz also met Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem later on Saturday.

The German chancellor earlier held talks with Jordan’s King Abdullah II and told reporters they had mostly discussed Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

Merz urged mo

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