This week German Chancellor Friedrich Merz spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Berlin’s readout said Merz had voiced “deep concern about developments in the Palestinian territories” and warned that “there must be no de facto partial annexation of the West Bank.” The same message was posted on the chancellor’s official social media accounts in German and English.
Germany’s stance is consistent with long‑standing policy: Berlin repeatedly cautions against unilateral steps that would amount to annexation and continues to support a negotiated two‑state solution. Israeli policy, however, has been moving away from that path well before the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023.
The German warning prompted an unusually sharp public reaction from Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far‑right member of Netanyahu’s cabinet. On X he wrote that the days when Germans told Jews where they could live “are over,” adding that Israelis would not be forced “into ghettos again, certainly not in our own land,” and concluding with the Hebrew slogan “Am Yisrael Chai” (“The people of Israel live”). Smotrich, who lives in the West Bank and is the grandson of Holocaust survivors, has in the past made remarks described by critics as racist, xenophobic and homophobic, and he has frequently attacked Israel’s Supreme Court. With parliamentary elections expected this autumn, analysts say some of his rhetoric is aimed at distinguishing him politically.
Israel’s ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, publicly contradicted Smotrich and defended Merz, calling the chancellor “a great friend of Israel.” Prosor said it is legitimate to disagree with Germany, even on emotional days such as Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day), but condemned Smotrich’s wording as distorting and instrumentalizing the memory of the Holocaust.
The episode followed an earlier spat in late March, when Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar objected to a post by Steffen Seibert, the German ambassador to Israel, which mentioned settler violence in the West Bank. Seibert, a former German government spokesperson who has advocated for hostages taken by Hamas and learned Hebrew, is not generally critical of Israel, making his reference to settler attacks notable.
Those public exchanges reflect a broader and growing estrangement between Berlin and Jerusalem that predates October 2023. High‑level government consultations have been infrequent: the last full government talks were held in 2018. Germany treats such consultations as a marker of especially close cooperation; the prolonged gap with Israel stands out compared with other partners.
The relationship shifted further in October 2025, when Merz distanced himself from the concept of Germany’s “special political responsibility” for Israel — a principle often cited since Chancellor Angela Merkel’s 2008 Knesset speech. Merkel framed a particular responsibility for Israel’s security; Merz said he had long struggled with the phrase because its practical meaning was unclear. Since then there has been more public debate in Germany over what concrete duties Berlin should accept. That discussion has included criticism of Israeli conduct in the Gaza war, questions about German arms exports to Israel and proposals — not yet widely debated — about possible German roles in international peacekeeping missions.
At the core of the dispute lie basic policy differences over the viability of a two‑state solution. German foreign ministry spokespeople have repeatedly called new Israeli settlement projects in the occupied West Bank violations of international law. The Israeli government has explicitly rejected Palestinian statehood, and continued settlement expansion is steadily eroding the practical possibility of a contiguous Palestinian state. The United Nations likewise regards the settlements as a major obstacle to peace. Palestinian civilians have been killed in attacks by radical settlers, and settler violence has emptied villages in parts of the West Bank.
Merz’s expression of concern thus reflected longstanding German positions on settlements and international law — positions that prompted Smotrich’s denunciation. Commentators have noted that Israeli leaders often accuse Germany of attacking Israel when Berlin raises the human‑rights situation of Palestinians, even at the risk of alienating a key European ally. Mairav Zonszein of the International Crisis Group was quoted by The Guardian urging the German government to reconsider how it deals with the Netanyahu administration.
The incident underscores how differences over settlements, international law and the future of a Palestinian state have widened the political and diplomatic distance between Germany and Israel. The dispute is likely to shape bilateral exchanges in the run‑up to Israeli elections and complicate any attempt to restore the closer ties that once marked the relationship.
This article was originally written in German.