Netanyahu in Berlin next week for talks with Merkel

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will host Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu next Thursday for talks, as part of a regular annual meeting of the two countries’ cabinets.

The two leaders will hold bilateral talks before joining a plenary with ministers from both sides, in what would be the sixth such meeting.

Such “government consultations” is a format Germany has with only a handful of countries, including India and China.

Germany is widely seen as Israel’s strongest European ally but their ties have been strained in recent years.

Netanyahu strongly opposes a deal hammered out between six world powers including Germany and Iran ending a 13-year standoff over the Islamic republic’s nuclear program.

And Merkel has frequently joined Western leaders in criticising Israel’s settlements in the West Bank.