Merkel in Israel: Germany still holds responsibility for Holocaust

“Holokaust is, of course, a unique event for which we continue to bear responsibility. At every stage of the past and future”, Merkel told reporters Sunday.

Bennett, on the other hand, said Merkel, which will withdraw from politics after the talks on the new coalition government in Germany are completed after the September elections, is “moral buses of the entire European continent”.

He praised the 67-year-old politician's role in consolidating special relations between the two countries based on the “the deep historical parliament” caused by Nazi Germany to Jews in World War II.

Merkel also met with the Israeli government.

The ruling coalition consists of a total of eight right and left spectrum parties, and for the first time it includes an Arab party. Right-wing contractor Benjamin Netanyah left the prime minister's post in June after being in power since 2008.

The Chancellor also plans to hold talks with President Isaac Herzeg and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid for the first time since the government and the president began their mandates in June and July.

The focus of the talks is expected to be on Iran's nuclear programme, the issue of Palestinian state independence and bilateral issues, among many other topics.

Angela Merkel planned a visit to Israel in late August, but it was postponed due to the dramatic development of the situation in Afghanistan.

The Chancellor, in the presence of Bennett, plans to place a crown at the Yad Vashem Memorial Centre in Jerusalem.

At the second ceremony, Merkel will receive an honourary doctorate from the Israeli Institute of Technology, Technyon in Haifa in northern Israel. Merkel and Bennett will then meet with company representatives.

The Chancellor will travel to Germany on Monday.