Germany’s Merz faces pressure to toughen stance on Israel

By Sarah Marsh and Andreas Rinke

BERLIN (Reuters) -German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is under pressure to take a firmer stance towards Israel, with members of his own coalition calling for Berlin to join a statement by dozens of Western nations condemning the “inhumane killing” of Palestinians.

Merz, who leads Germany’s centre-right CDU, has been increasingly critical of Israel. But Germany was notably absent from the joint statement issued on Monday by the EU and 28 Western countries including…