Merkel calls Netanyahu, stresses need for two-state solution
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has congratulated Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his re-election and stressed the need to work toward a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Merkel's office said stressed in a phone conversation Monday the continued relevance of a two-state solution, which she said should be the goal of international efforts.
Merkel also expressed her willingness to work closely and trustingly with the incoming Israeli government.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
During the final stretch of his election campaign, Netanyahu pledged for the first time to annex parts of the occupied West Bank in a desperate bid to rally his right-wing base. Netanyahu has reneged on election eve promises before, but should he follow through on this one, it would mark a dramatic development and potentially wipe out the already diminishing hope for Palestinian statehood.