Netanyahu meets Kerry Thursday after talks with Merkel

German Chancellor Angela Merkel criticized settlement building as “counterproductive to a two-state solution,” when she welcomed Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on a working visit to Berlin Wednesday. She emphasized Germany’s “unique” relations with Israel. “We will continue to protect Israel,” she said, and went on to say: “We expect him [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas] to condemn everything that constitutes an act of terrorism. One can’t have open talks with Israel if this does not happen.” On the status quo in Jerusalem, she said, “I think that the present status of the holy sites needs to be continued. It is an important message to send to the Arab world.” 

Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with US Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday. He stressed that he will urge Kerry to demand that Abbas stop the incitement, the source of the recent terrorist attacks.