Israeli ambassador to Germany condemns Bezalel Smotrich’s tirade against chancellor

Ron Prosor says verbal attack on Friedrich Merz referencing Nazi regime ‘erodes the memory of the Holocaust’ Israel’s envoy to Germany has criticised a far-right Israeli cabinet member who made historically charged accusations against the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, saying the attack “[eroded] the memory of the Holocaust”. In a rare rebuke of a top Israeli official by an active ambassador, Ron Prosor said he wished to “unequivocally condemn” Bezalel Smotrich’s tirade against Merz, in which he made reference to the Nazi regime and said: “You will not force us into ghettos again.” The row, which erupted after the chancellor raised objections to settlements in the occupied West Bank, marks the latest clash between Berlin, seen as Israel’s closest ally in Europe, and Benjamin Netanyahu’s government over its actions toward Palestinians. Merz’s office released a statement late on Monday after telephone talks with Netanyahu, saying he had urged Israel to stop military attacks on southern Lebanon and expressed “deep concern about developments in the Palestinian territories”. A “de facto annexation” of the West Bank must not be allowed, he added. In