Merz calls on the government to allow Germans in Israel to leave the country

WORLD Merz calls on the government to allow Germans in Israel to leave the country 45 mins The German Foreign Ministry is in contact with 17 German youth groups that were in Israel at the time of the attack. Union faction leader Merz is calling for more and faster help for Germans returning from Israel. The Foreign Office said it was in high-pressure talks with airlines. Merz calls on the government to allow Germans in Israel to leave the country Union parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz has called on the federal government to quickly enable Germans willing to leave the country to leave the country after the Islamist Hamas attack on Israel. The federal government must make it possible “for German citizens who want to leave the country, for example school classes, youth groups and others who are still in Israel, to now fly back to Germany,” said Merz, who is also CDU chairman. on Tuesday in Berlin before a meeting of the CDU/CSU representatives in the Bundestag. Meanwhile, the Foreign Office said that the crisis response center was in intensive contact with airlines in order to expand flight capacities. The German Foreign Ministry is in close contact with 17 youth groups. Four such youth groups have already left safely. Further groups should fly out this Tuesday. CSU regional group leader Alexander Dobrindt said that if a return flight with scheduled aircraft was not possible, the federal government would have to make government aircraft available for this purpose. “Other countries have already shown in the past few days that they can organize this.” Dobrindt called on Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) to “ensure that German citizens in Israel do not have to continue to float in uncertainty.” Prevent funding for organizations affiliated with Hamas Merz called for everything to be done to stop the financing of those organizations close to Hamas that in Germany “express their support and their friends completely unrestrainedly over these attacks.” In addition, financial flows going to these organizations would have to be critically examined. The Union faction leader said that among the people from Israel kidnapped in the Hamas attack in the Gaza Strip were at least five German nationals, including two small children. When asked, Merz said that he was referring to media reports with this information. The Foreign Office assumes that there are also Germans among those abducted, but does not provide any figures. Most of them are dual nationals who have both German and Israeli citizenship.