German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said today, Wednesday, that the entire Israeli cabinet agreed to come to Berlin for government talks, and the German official's statement came during his visit to Israel and his agreement with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to establish a new strategic partnership between the two parties.
Chancellor Schultz did not mention a date to visit the Israeli government during a press conference in occupied Jerusalem on Wednesday with the Israeli Prime Minister.
For his part, Bennett said - today, Wednesday, in a press conference with the German chancellor - that the two parties agreed to establish a new strategic partnership, describing the matter as a qualitative leap in the relationship between the two sides.
In turn, Chancellor Schulz stated that a strategic dialogue between Berlin and Tel Aviv had begun.
Nuclear negotiations
However, differences appeared in Germany and Israel's position regarding the ongoing negotiations in the Austrian capital (Vienna) regarding reviving the Iranian nuclear agreement. The German chancellor said that he "understands Israel's concerns about Iran, but the negotiations in Vienna should not be postponed or stopped."
As for the Israeli prime minister, he said, “We have a responsibility to ensure that Iran does not get nuclear weapons, not now and never.” Bennett added that Tel Aviv does not accept the possibility of an agreement that will allow Iran in a few years to install centrifuges on a large scale.
Negotiators in Vienna are close to reaching an agreement to revive the 2014 Iranian nuclear deal, which included easing international sanctions on Iran, in return for strict restrictions on its nuclear program and preventing it from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
In a related context, the German Consulate in Ramallah (in the occupied West Bank) said that Chancellor Schulz's visit, which was scheduled to Ramallah, has been postponed due to the Russian-Ukrainian war.
The German chancellor was supposed to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Hussein Al-Sheikh.