Photo: DPAAfter simmering for months, a crisis between Israel and Germany has erupted into the open, putting serious strain on a special relationship painstakingly built up after the Holocaust. First, Chancellor Angela Merkel in February postponed an annual government meeting with Israel, then this week Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to meet Germany's foreign minister in Jerusalem. What was once "unthinkable" has become real - the gild on the ties between Germany and Israel may be fading. Both sides - and subsequently a reunified Germany - have since built up a close relationship. And Merkel has repeatedly said that "the security and right of the state of Israel to exist is a fundamental tenet for Germany".

Source: The Local April 26, 2017 09:45 UTC