German Chancellor Angela Merkel receiving the Buber Rosenzweig Medal on Aug. 31, 2021. Photo: Bundesregierung/Denzel

i24 News – Angela Merkel arrived to Israel late Saturday for the German chancellor’s eighth and final visit to the Jewish state in over 16 years in office.

The European leader’s busy schedule on Sunday in Jerusalem includes meeting Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and visiting the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial.

The Israeli government will celebrate the strong ties forged between the two countries during Merkel’s tenure by dedicating a special cabinet meeting to her departure, which she is expected to attend.

In addition to meeting with Bennett, Merkel is scheduled for talks with President Isaac Herzog and Foreign Minister and Alternate Prime Minister Yair Lapid.

The chancellor is then scheduled to visit Yad Vashem, accompanied by Bennett, who has cleared most of his schedule for the day’s events.

The German leader will also receive an honorary doctorate from the Technion Institute and participate in a panel discussion at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.

Merkel’s tour comes shortly after the German general election, which was won by the Social Democratic Party, whose leader Olaf Scholz is expected to be named the next chancellor.

The final visit to Israel was originally scheduled for August but was postponed due to the crisis over the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The chancellor’s last visit to Israel was in 2018.