Merkel to arrive in Israel amid Palestinian calls to halt demolition of Khan Al-Ahmar

German chancellor, Angela Merkel is due to arrive in Israel on Wednesday evening, for an official visit to discuss bilateral relations between Germany and Israel.

Merkel will attend an official dinner at Israeli PM,  Benyain Netanyahu’s residence, and the next day she will be taking part in a round table discussion between German and Israeli entrepreneurs and will be received by Israeli President Reuven Rivlin.

Merkel will not travel to Ramallah and will not meet with Palestinian representatives. The German embassy in Tel Aviv told Haaretz that “the visit focuses on relations with Israel, and that Merkel will meet only with Israeli representatives.

On the occasion of the visit, Bedouin children from Khan al-Ahmar demonstrated yesterday, carrying pictures of the chancellor and asking her to help prevent the demolition of the village. Merkel is expected to raise the issue in her meeting with Netanyahu.

Yesterday, there were meetings between the opposition parties in Israel and Germany; A delegation from the Meretz party led by MK Moshe Raz met with a delegation from the German Green Party, headed by Bundestag member Omid Noribor. The two drafted a joint statement calling for ” Ending occupation, halting demolition of Khan al-Ahmar, and stopping the trend of strengthening the extreme right in both Germany and Israel. ”

The “Combatants for Peace” movement also issued a letter calling on Merkel to intervene to prevent the evacuation and demolition of Khan al-Ahmar. “While you, Chancellor, will be having dinner with  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and participating in discussions in the Israeli Knesset, half an hour away from Jerusalem, there will be people living in constant fear of losing their homes. In the coming days, a village of hundreds of Palestinian Bedouins and a school of more than 100 students will be evacuated and evacuated by force. ”

Merkel canceled the previous government meeting in 2017. The official reason was the elections in Germany, but German officials and “Israelis” pointed to another reason is its dissatisfaction with the law on the confiscation of private Palestinian land, known as the “Regulation Law,” which was approved by the Knesset at that time.