The outgoing German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, met today (Monday) with senior members of the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) and discussed the variety of issues on the Israeli, European and regional agenda.
In her remarks, she referred to the immediate need to prevent Iran from reaching nuclear capabilities, praised the government for its "interesting steps" in advancing the Palestinian issue and mentioned the fact that anti-Semitism is on the rise and must be fought.
On Iran, the Chancellor said:
"I do not think we have different opinions about the nuclear deal after we negotiated - whether it improves the situation or does not contribute to or prevent Iran's deficit.
I have always supported the agreement even though I knew its weaknesses because I believed and still believe that it is an initial achievement and an expandable framework.
"However, the partners in the negotiations have not been unanimous for years and the country that suffers the most from Iran's aggression is Israel."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett at their meeting in Jerusalem, Photo: Amos Ben Gershom, GPO
She added that "we have a common position - we need to prevent Iran from reaching a nuclear capability. We are in a very critical place, I say this in a wavy bristle, and we need to continue working on it. Yesterday I spoke with Prime Minister Israel and told him there are other dimensions. Like Iran's arms program and the missile and drone program. So far we have not been able to curb Iran's regional ambitions. We need to talk to Russia because it is an important player in the region, as well as with Egypt and Jordan and other forces in the region. European countries together with the United States, Russia "China must prevent uranium enrichment. We must involve as many countries as possible in the agreement with Iran and try to stop Iran from cooperating."
Merkel addressed the Palestinian issue and said that
"the question arises as to what the solution looks like regarding their options to live their lives. It's a bit off schedule and I want to thank INSS, although it's not a topic that appears in the headlines, that you still stick to this issue.
I say like others, that I support a Jewish democratic state and just as Israel has the right to its own state, the Palestinians also have the right to live and the possibility to determine their lives.
We must, of course, take into account the settlements, which make it difficult to make two states into two peoples.
In the long run, this issue will not go away, even if relations with the Arab neighbors are better.
"I think the government is taking very interesting steps towards pragmatic solutions to improve the living conditions of the Palestinians and we on the European side will support these issues."
President Herzog and his wife Michal with Chancellor Merkel, Photo: Haim Tzach / GPO
On the Middle East and the international arena:
"We are in a very complex environment, the balance of power in the world is changing - the Americans have withdrawn from Afghanistan and we see that the United States is no longer so present and leading everywhere in the world.
It means from the European perspective that we need to further define our security interest and we need to coordinate that together with the US, to define who does what role in NATO.
On the social situation: "Everywhere we are in the world we see the polarization in society, which is amplified by the internet and social networks. Anti-Semitism, as well as hatred and incitement towards people who look or think differently, is a huge danger to our democracies. It has diminished but increased, I have to say it sadly. We have to make an effort to fight it. "
