Berlin/Tel Aviv (dpa) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel has cancelled a trip to Israel this weekend citing the mounting crisis in Afghanistan, in a decision was announced just before an explosion outside Kabul airport, after terror warnings a day earlier.
Both leaders agreed that the trip would be rescheduled, German government spokesperson Steffen Seibert said.
Merkel was due to meet the new Israeli government during the trip that was scheduled from August 28-30 but made the decision to postpone the journey in consultation with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennet, Seibert said.
Germany, like many other countries, is working around the clock to evacuate citizens and local staff from Afghanistan ahead of the August 31 deadline when US troops depart.
On Thursday, the Bundeswehr continued evacuation flights, though the German embassy warned people not to come to the airport in Kabul a day earlier.
Merkel was originally due to land in Israel on Saturday evening. Talks were planned with Bennett, President Isaac Herzog and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on Sunday. She was also going to meet the Israeli Cabinet.
Further plans included laying a wreath at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, together with Bennett.
At a ceremony in Jerusalem, Merkel was to receive an honorary doctorate from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa.
Israel’s new government was sworn in in mid-June, in a coalition of eight parties, including one Arab party for the first time, ousting long-time leader Benjamin Netanyahu.
Merkel, meanwhile, steps down as Germany’s chancellor in September after 16 years in power.
