German Chancellor Angela Merkel landed in Israel on Saturday night, a day before a meeting with the Israeli leadership in her farewell visit as chancellor.
Merkel was received by top foreign ministry officials at Ben Gurion airport.
The major Route 1 highway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem was briefly closed as Merkel traveled from the airport to the capital. Some roads in Jerusalem are expected to remain closed until Sunday.
Merkel, who is currently leading a caretaker government after national elections until a new government is formed, will meet with the Israeli cabinet, visit Yad Vashem and meet with Israel’s high-tech leaders and entrepreneurs.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is expected to discuss regional challenges and threats to German leaders, including those associated with Iran.
The chancellor was originally scheduled to visit Israel in late August, but was canceled amid the turmoil surrounding the United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan and the attack on Kabul airport.
Merkel’s office said in a statement at the time that the trip was canceled “due to current developments in Afghanistan” in consultation with Bennett. Germany was among the countries scrambling to evacuate its own citizens and Afghans from Kabul, who had helped its army during its nearly two-decade deployment in the country.
During her 16-year rule, Merkel, who most recently visited the Jewish state in 2018, has described Israel’s national security as a key German foreign policy priority, because of the country’s historic responsibility for the Holocaust. Is. Is.
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